Bernard Schwartz
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Loral Corporation, BLS Investments
FUNDING AREAS: U.S. Economic Policy, Higher Education, Medical Research, Cultural Organizations
OVERVIEW: Bernard Schwartz and family move philanthropy through the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, which focuses on four areas: think tanks and economic policy advocacy organizations that develop strategies to promote U.S. economic growth and job creation initiatives; educational institutions; medical research centers; and major New York City cultural organizations.
BACKGROUND: Bernard L. Schwartz graduated with a B.S. in finance from the City College of New York. He served for 34 years as chairman of the board and CEO of Loral Corporation and its successor, satellite communications company Loral Space & Communications. Schwartz also formed and was chairman of the board of K&F Industries, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of wheels, brakes and brake control systems for the aviation industry. He is currently chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, LLC, a private investment firm founded in 2006.
ISSUES:
U.S. ECONOMIC POLICY: Bernard Schwartz is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees and program sponsor of Third Way, a nonprofit, nonpartisan strategy center for progressives. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, home to the Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellowship in Business and Foreign Policy. The New School, where he’s vice chair, is home to the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and Chair in Economics and Policy. The family has given to the Brookings Institute and the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
HIGHER EDUCATION: In 1997, Schwartz founded the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute at Baruch College in New York City. In 2009, he established Fordham University's Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy and Education.
MEDICAL RESEARCH: Bernard Schwartz has been an active and dedicated trustee of New York University Medical Center for more than 30 years. He pledged $4.8 million to NYU's School of Medicine to establish the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Gastrointestinal Oncology Fellowship Program and the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Professorship in Gastrointestinal Oncology. He also pledged $5 million to the medical school to establish the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Venous Thromboembolic Disease Center (VTEC).
In 2007, Schwartz established the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, And for more than decade beginning in 1995, the couple provided funding for a number of programs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS: The family has been involved with the Bard Graduate Center, Film Society Lincoln Center and WNET New York Public Media.
LOOKING FORWARD: Schwartz is in his nineties and foundation giving has tapered off in recent years.
CONTACT:
The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation
944 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10021
LINK: Bernard L. Schwartz
