RUTH GOTTESMAN’S STERLING PHILANTHROPY

It was an unprecedented ground-breaking philanthropy from Ruth Gottesman when she announced a staggering sum of 1billion dollars of tuition free scholarship to students of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) in the Bronx, New York. I watched briefly when she made the earth-shattering announcement, also instructing that the school should not be named after her, though a tradition accompanying such monstrosity of human kindness. The over one thousand students, hazarding a guess, spontaneously stood up in ovation jamming their hands resoundingly in unspeakable appreciation. As a matter of fact, l saw a student betray uncontrollable emotions by letting her tears flow. In a world where billionaires are wont to keep amassing wealth for the sheer thought and pleasure of it like Russia stockpiling nuclear weapons, this is just beyond awesome.

Medicine is one of the most expensive disciplines all over the world, even though still being one of the most demanding scholarly worldwide. In America where college education is so expensive not to mention schools of medicine where students often patronize loans to see them through school, this is just a jaw-dropping gesture of compassion and sheer humanism.

Of course, when you realize that students of all races, tribes, religions are hereby opportune to benefit from this inimitable gesture of selfless benevolence, that also, society at large beyond the home ground of America is going to be impacted by this far-reaching kindness, the full import of this beautiful gift from the awesomely beautiful personality of Ruth Gottesman begins to sink in.

Born in 1930, Ruth Gottesman has been a Professor Emeritus of Paediatrics. She was married to David Gottesman, a stock investor, whose estate was estimated to worth 3billion dollars as at the time of his death, for seventy two years before he passed on. Her late husband did will out 1billion dollars to her, instructing her to do whatever she wished with it. Read this: “With her husband David, she donated $25 million to AECOM in 2008, which was used to found the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research, the Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Center and the Faculty Scholar in Epigenetics at AECOM.

“When David died in 2022, he bequeathed a portfolio of stock in Berkshire Hathaway to Ruth, with the instructions for her to do with it as she pleased. Wanting to support education, Gottesman announced a $1 billion gift to AECOM in February 2024 to provide free tuition to all its students in perpetuity.” Having three living children did not restrain her from gifting the world this world-impacting philanthropy. There are many reasons why most times sobered by the negative excesses of man and the unending misery of the world, l still retain some confidence and belief in humanity. These self-effacing actions may be in trickles, but they nonetheless make bold statement that we should still believe in something beautiful in humanity.

Thank you David Gottesman. Thank you Ruth Gottesman for making the world a better place with this far-reaching gesture of sublime human kindness. Far-reaching as these and future student beneficiaries of this awesome philanthropy are going to impact the world from all over the world. These students coming all the way from China, India, Bangladesh, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, America, Britain etc. would be far-flung after graduation making world-contributing impacts from their bases.

The almost hackneyed saying that “we rise by lifting others” reigns supreme here. At 94 years old, Ruth Gottesman may not be leaving the world better than she met it. However, it’s evident that she wants to leave it better for her children, grandchildren, relatives, friends and strangers a world far better than she met it. It is a wakeup call to you and me, and all, that having only this earth as humans, we should all strive to make her a better place before we leave.