Baltimorean Dr. Ruth Gottesman Donates $1 Billion to Einstein College of Medicine

A Baltimore native and scion of the Hochschild-Kohn department store dynasty, Dr. Ruth L. Gottesman recently donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.

The gift — which will be tuition-free for the indefinite future — is intended to attract students to the medical school in New York City’s poorest borough. By forgiving hundreds of thousands in student debt, the donation aims to make Einstein accessible to a broad range of candidates, the college said in a statement. It is the largest donation ever given to Eistenin.

Dr. Gottesman, 93, is a noted researcher, philanthropist and an emerita faculty member of Einstein, which was founded by Yeshiva University in 1955.

In 2015, Yeshiva University transferred ownership of Einstein to New York’s Montefiore Medical Center. Einstein and Yeshiva are still closely affiliated.

A 1948 graduate of the Friends School of Baltimore, Dr. Gottesman is the daughter of the late Lester S. Levy, a noted Baltimore businessman, American musicology pioneer, and president and board member of several local philanthropic and cultural organizations, including the Associated Jewish Charities & Welfare Fund (now known as The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore). He also served as president of Baltimore Hebrew College and a board officer of the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland.

Dr. Gottesman’s mother was the late Eleanor Kohn Levy, daughter of Benno Kohn, a Bavarian immigrant to Baltimore who in 1895 co-founded Hochschild Kohn & Co. with his brother Louis B. Kohn and business partner Max Hochschild.

The Levys were among the co-founders of the Central Scholarship Bureau, now based in Owings Mills, and belonged to Chizuk Amuno Congregation.

In a statement, Dr. Gottesman said the donation to Einstein will help students “find new ways to prevent diseases and provide the finest health care to communities here in the Bronx and all over the world. … l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause.”

Dr. Gottesman is the widow of David Sanford “Sandy” Gottesman, a prominent Jewish fianancier and philanthropist who died in 2022 at age 96. Sandy Gottesman was affiliated with billionaire investor Warren Buffett when they were classmates at Harvard Business School. He became an early backer of Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathawa. In 2022, Forbes estimated Gottesman’s wealth at $3 billion.

The Gottesmans, who met as students at Mount Holyoke College, were married for more than 72 years and lived in Rye, New York. They had three children.

According to media reports, Dr. Gottesman insisted that Einstein not change its name despite her major donation. The college has 737 medical students enrolled for this academic year, in addition to hundreds of Ph.D. students and post-doctoral researchers.

“This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it,” said Dr. Yaron Tomer, Einstein’s dean, in a statement. “Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive.”