Blackstone President gives $125M to Tel Aviv University’s medical school in historic donation
The donation by Jonathan Gray and his wide Mindy will fund scholarships, new dormitories, and boost enrollment of Arab, Haredi, and other underrepresented students at Israel’s largest medical school.
Jonathan Gray, president and COO of the investment giant Blackstone, and his wife Mindy are donating a staggering $125 million (approximately NIS 450 million) to the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University—the largest gift in the university’s history. The donation ranks among the most substantial ever given to an academic institution in Israel.
The university announced that the donation will be used to reduce social disparities and significantly expand access to medical education for underrepresented groups, including Arab students, Haredim, Ethiopian Israelis, new immigrants, and residents of Israel’s geographic periphery. A key part of the plan includes constructing a new dormitory building with 600 beds, prioritizing students from marginalized communities.
The Faculty of Medicine will now be renamed in honor of the Grays, replacing the Sackler family, whose name was removed in 2023 amid public criticism of their role in the opioid crisis through their ownership of Purdue Pharma. Blackstone’s total assets under management exceed $1 trillion.
Tel Aviv University's School of Medicine trains more doctors annually than any other Israeli institution—around 300 new students each year. The donation will enable a gradual 33% increase, eventually producing more than 400 new doctors annually—twice as many as other major Israeli faculties. It will also fund scholarships, expand classrooms, and support training in other health professions such as nursing, speech therapy, audiology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy.
The Grays, American Jews, said the October 7 Hamas attacks spurred them to reaffirm their commitment to Israel. “Since the difficult events of October 7, we have been searching for a way to make a significant difference in Israel,” said Mindy and Jonathan Gray. “We see no better way to contribute to the healing process than by supporting an institution that touches the lives of so many.”
The Grays have a strong philanthropic record. They previously donated over $125 million to the University of Pennsylvania, including $55 million to establish a cancer prevention institute.
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Sackler Name Officially Removed
The decision to rename the faculty follows years of public pressure to sever ties with the Sackler family, whose company Purdue Pharma played a central role in the U.S. opioid crisis. In June 2023, the Sackler name was formally removed. Institutions such as the University of Oxford, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Museum have taken similar steps.
Unlike many other prominent Jewish philanthropists, Gray has avoided public criticism of U.S. universities in the wake of October 7. While some donors to schools like Harvard and UPenn froze or withdrew funding, Gray continued his philanthropic work without issuing harsh political statements. In an October 2023 interview with Bloomberg, Gray voiced support for then-UPenn President Liz Magill and called for universities to “speak more clearly” against antisemitism.
Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Medicine, established in 1964, is Israel’s largest. It includes schools of medicine, dentistry, public health, and health sciences, and is affiliated with 18 hospitals nationwide. The Grays’ gift is expected to strengthen its role as a national leader in medicine and expand its commitment to social diversity.
The record for the largest academic donation in Israel was the $400 million left to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev by Howard and Lottie Marcus in 2016. Bar-Ilan University also received an anonymous $260 million gift last year to advance scientific research.
