Woman Donates $1 Billion To Medical School In The Bronx, Makes It Tuition-Free

93-year-old widow Dr. Ruth Gottesman just made history at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx borough in New York City. The professor of pediatrics announced to students on Monday that she would donate $1 billion to make the school “tuition-free.” As per BBC, Dr. Gottesman’s donation is the largest-ever made to any medical school.

Ahead, find what to know about the university chairperson’s gift to the medical school, which will fund tuition “in perpetuity.”

The donation means no student at Einstein medical school “will have to pay tuition again”

A video circulating social media shows the moment Dr. Gottesman told students at the medical school about her donation.

The 93-year-old tells the seated students, “I’m happy to share with you that starting in August this year, that Albert Einstein College of Medicine will be tuition-free.”

As you can expect, the crowd goes wild, standing up, cheering, embracing each other, and crying. Yes, we have piel de gallina right now, too:

In a press release, the medical school announced that Dr. Gottesman, the Chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees, made a “transformational,” “historic” gift.

As Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at the school, put it, “This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it.”

Moreover, the medical school hopes the donation will attract a “diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world.” As the institution described, the gift will also hopefully usher in students who “may not otherwise have the means to pursue a medical education.”

Following Dr. Gottesman’s donation, the school will reportedly refund fourth-year students their spring 2024 tuition (tuition at the school was $59,000). Starting in August, though, all entering students will not have to pay to attend.

New York Representative Ritchie Torres wrote on X, “The people of The Bronx are eternally grateful [for Dr. Gottesman’s] generosity.” In addition, he said that the donation “has no precedent in the history of [the] borough.”

As per Dr. Gottesman’s interview with the New York Times, her late husband David “Sandy” Gottesman had investments in the holding company Berkshire Hathaway. In fact, according to Yahoo! Finance, he maintained a friendship with Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffet throughout his life.

The widow told the outlet that her husband left her a “whole portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock.” He reportedly told her, “Do whatever you think is right with it.”

Shortly after, she realized she wanted to give the money to the students at the medical school. “I wanted to fund students at Einstein so that they would receive free tuition.” About her decision, she said she hopes her husband is “smiling and not frowning.”

As per Dr. Gottesman’s profile on Einstein’s website, she joined the school’s Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center in 1968. Centering on learning difficulties, she “helped tens of thousands of children” through her work there. Founding the center’s Adult Literacy Program, she eventually became Clinical Professor Emerita of Pediatrics and chairperson at the medical school.

Even more, both Dr. Gottesman and her late husband were already “enormously generous donors” to the school in the past.