Could the same thing happen here? Where are you, Twiggy? Gina? Clive?
A billionaire just changed the lives of medical students at one of the world’s best medical schools.
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, co-founder of his namesake media company, has just donated $1 billion to his alumnus, Johns Hopkins University’s medical school.
Beginning in the northern autumn of this year, Bloomberg Philanthropies will cover 100% of tuition for medical students whose families earn less than $300,000 a year.
For those whose families earn less than $175,000 a year, all living expenses and fees will also be covered.
“As the US struggles to recover from a disturbing decline in life expectancy, our country faces a serious shortage of doctors, nurses and public health professionals – and yet, the high cost of medical, nursing and graduate school too often bars students from enrolling,” said Mr Bloomberg.
“By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about – and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most.”
It’s not the first time Mr Bloomberg has been the university’s biggest booster. In 2018 he donated $1.8 billion for undergraduate financial aid.
Other US billionaires have done similar things. In 2023, Kenneth and Elaine Langone, founders of Home Depot, gave $200 million to New York University’s Long Island School of Medicine; longtime Albert Einstein College of Medicine professor Ruth Gottesman, widow of First Manhattan founder David Gottesman, donated $1 billion to the college, covering medical tuition fees “in perpetuity”.
