KarunaNews Story

When Ruth Gottesman’s husband David died in 2022, the billionaire left her a portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock with instructions to “do whatever you think is right with it.” After much thought, she decided to donate $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Gottesman, who chairs the board of trustees, said it will be used to make tuition free for all students in perpetuity, starting in August. Pediatrician Philip Ozuah, president and CEO of Montefiore, the college's umbrella organization, made daily house calls to look in on David and Ruth when they caught COVID-19 in 2020. “I have the opportunity not just to help Phil, but to help Montefiore and Einstein in a transformative way,” she said of the gift.