Bronx students won't have to pay for a medical education after a $1 billion donation

The gift comes from Dr. Ruth Gottesman, 93, who previously served as a professor at the school. Her late husband, David “Sandy” Gottesman, founded a successful investment firm and was an early investor in the large American conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

When he died in September 2022, aged 96, he left a large inheritance and told his wife to do “what she thinks is right” with the money.

-I wanted to pay for the students of the Einstein School so that they could get a free education. “There was enough money to do this forever,” she said in an interview. The New York Times.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is located in one of New York's poorest neighborhoods. Bronx. Many hospitals and medical schools in Manhattan, the wealthiest borough, have received billions in donations, but the Bronx has not received as much attention. The New York Times wrote that Gottesman's donation is the largest ever made to a medical school in the United States.

According to Ruth Gottesman, the funds enable new doctors to start their careers without taking out student loans, which often amount to more than two million kroner for students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She also hopes that this will open up more diversity among students by attracting those who cannot afford education.

“It will enable generations of medical professionals to transcend the boundaries of research and care, and to break free from the burden of loan debt,” the school wrote in a statement. CNN.

The cost of studying at Albert Einstein College of Medicine is over 600,000 SEK per year. Final-year students will receive compensation for the spring semester of 2024. When the fall semester begins, all students will receive free tuition. BBC.