Eli Broad (1933- ) – Businessman & Philanthropist
Graduating cum laude from Michigan State University, with a degree in accounting, Eli Broad went on to become the youngest Michigan resident to have attained the credentials of Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In 1957, Broad went into business with Donald Kaufman, who was a home builder and related to Broad’s wife, Edythe. Broad financed his end of the enterprise with $25,000 borrowed from his wife’s parents, which eventually led to the Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation (now KB Home) creating homes they thought would appeal to a new generation of Detroit home buyers. The Kaufman and Broad model invariably featured an attached carport and omitted the basement, naming this model the “Award Winner” and priced at $13,740 they sold out the first weekend. Kaufman and Broad grew rapidly, becoming the first homebuilder to be traded on the American and New York stock exchanges. In 1971, Kaufman and Broad acquired a small life insurance company, SunAmerica, for $65 million, and transformed it into a retirement savings empire. With the merging of SunAmerica into the American International Group (AIG) in 1999, at the sale price of $18 billion, Eli Broad stepped down as CEO and turned his attention to full-time philanthropy.
Broad and his wife created The Broad Foundation, to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science and the arts. The Foundation includes The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and The Broad Art Foundation, and has assets of $2.1 billion. In 1991, Broad endowed the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management with $20 million for a full-time M.B.A. program at his alma mater, Michigan State University. In 2000, Broad donated $23.2 million towards the Broad Art Center at UCLA, designed by Richard Meier. Two years later, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation gave $60 million to LACMA as part of the museum’s renovation campaign to create the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and to acquire art. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, like many other foundations, contributed $60 million to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create Strong American Schools.
We honor Eli and Edythe Broad because their philanthropic work makes them Legacy Champs. If you want to be a Legacy Champ in your own special way, then contact The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. for a free initial consultation on estate planning, trust planning, and/or probate issues.
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