Blackstone CEO Schwarzman's $350M MIT gift to power AI computing
Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of global asset management giant Blackstone, has committed $350 million to MIT – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology - which will help position the United States as a leader in Artificial Intelligence and computing.
“AI will reshape the world in ways we can’t imagine, much as the printing press and the Internet did at their inceptions. That means the United States must remain the lead player in AI if we are to guarantee our future in a competitive global economy” said Schwarzman in a January Washington Post Op-Ed.
Schwarzman’s donation, which will create the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, is part of a $1 billion commitment, the single largest investment in computing and AI by an American academic institution MIT noted. Additionally, MIT has raised $300 million through other donations.
“As computing reshapes our world, MIT intends to help make sure it does so for the good of all,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif in a statement. “
Courtesy: Christopher Harting
MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing
- New building to be constructed on campus
- Will create 50 new faculty positions
- MIT’s five schools will collaborate on AI and computing via the college
- Will influence public policy and ethical views on AI
- The most significant structural change at MIT since 1950
- Dan Huttenlocher SM ’84, PhD ’88 named as the first dean
Source: MIT
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While the donation and college was announced in October, it will be celebrated over the next three days in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Schwarzman, Henry Kissinger, MIT faculty and other high profile business leaders.
Schwarzman, whose net worth is pegged at $13 billion per Forbes, has a long list of philanthropic causes he supports and funds.
Here's a look at some of his donations provided to FOX Business by Blackstone and MIT.
Yale
$150 million to establish the Schwarzman Center, a first-of-its-kind campus center.
New York Public Library
$100 million for the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building which is the flagship of the New York Public Librairies and a historic landmark in Midtown Manhattan.
Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University in Beijing
$575 million raised to date and counting. The highly selective Master’s program is modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship and is the largest philanthropic effort in China’s history coming from mostly international donors.
Inner City Scholarship Fund
$40 million gift that supports the financial needs for scholarship programs to help underprivileged children receive a Catholic school education in the Archdiocese of New York.
Harvard Business School
$5 million to support and research AI’s impact on industries/business.
USA Track and Field Foundation
$2.75 million which makes Schwarzman the largest donor.
Source: MIT/Blackstone
Suzanne O'Halloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and is a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on Twitter @suzohalloran