The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation

Bill Gross Philanthropy

Over the past several decades, Bill Gross has donated more than $700 million to charity, primarily through his foundation.

The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation annually donates over $20 million to philanthropic causes.

Bill Gross has long believed in the importance of giving back to the community. While at PIMCO, he founded and provided seed funding for the PIMCO Foundation and required all of the firm’s Managing Directors to contribute at least 1% of their compensation every year to ensure ongoing funding for the Foundation.

Bill Gross and the Gross Family’s notable donations include:

$40 million

University of California, Irvine

$40 million to the University of California, Irvine to establish a nursing school and assist in the construction of a new building to house it.

$23.5 million

Duke University

$23.5 million to Duke University to provide financial aid for needy and excellent students and other programs.

$20 million

Mercy Ships

$20 million to Mercy Ships, which uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building and sustainable development to those without access in the developing world.

$20 million

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

$20 million to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in support of the Women’s Pavilion, the largest contribution at the time in the history of the hospital, supporting the largest expansion ever undertaken at Hoag.

$20 million

Cedars-Sinai Hospital

$20 million dollars to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, CA.

$19 million

Earth Institute of Columbia University

More than $19 million to the Earth Institute of Columbia University’s Millennium Villages Project, which attempted to implement an innovative model for helping rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

$10 million

UC Irvine

$10 million to UC Irvine to support human embryonic stem-cell research.

$10 million

Mission Hospital

$10 million to Mission Hospital Laguna Beach, the largest gift in the history of the coastal hospital allowing it to double the size of its emergency room.

$9 million

Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum

$9 million to the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., to create the 12,000-square-foot William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, the world’s largest gallery dedicated to philately.

$33 million

Doctors Without Borders

Multiple donations totaling $33 million to the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, making Bill Gross the largest donor ever.

Throughout his career, Bill Gross has developed creative methods of making donations, including pledging all sales from the auctions of his valuable stamp collection to charitable causes, and the proceeds of a large legal settlement.

Bill Gross augmented his family foundation’s donations by writing $15,000 personal checks anonymously to people in dire financial straits, using a secret network of associates across the country to give directly to hundreds of individuals and families by identifying those in need.