P. Roy and Diana Vagelos: Donor Grants
/NET WORTH: Unknown
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Merck Research Laboratories
FUNDING AREAS: Higher Education & Medical Research, Environment
OVERVIEW: P. Roy Vagelos, his wife Diana, and family move their philanthropy through the Marianthi Foundation, named after his mother, and the Pindaros Foundation, named after the great Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar (which is also Vagelos’ first name), largely to fund educational projects at the universities important to the family.
BACKGROUND: P. Roy Vagelos graduated with an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and an M.D. from Columbia University in 1954. Following a residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the National Institute of Health where he served as Senior Surgeon and then Section Head of Comparative Biochemistry. He joined Merck Research Laboratories in 1975 where he was president until 1985 when he became CEO and later chairman. He retired in 1994.
ISSUES:
HIGHER EDUCATION & MEDICAL RESEARCH: Vagelos has said that “we are very dedicated to what we think is the most important thing: education.” University of Pennsylvania is home to the Roy & Diana Vagelos Scholars Program in Life Sciences & Management, the Vagelos Field Hockey Field, and Vagelos Laboratory for Freshman Chemistry, among other outfits. Vagelos was on the board of trustees of his alma mater for more than a decade, including chairing the Penn Board of Trustees. In 2024, the couple pledged $83.9 million to the school to support science research and education.
The family also strongly support Diana’s alma mater Barnard College, including a recent $10 million challenge grant in 2018 and $55 million in 2022. Earlier in the decade, the couple donated $50 million to support the construction of a new medical and graduate education building at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). And in 2017, the couple gave a $250 million gift to Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, renaming it the Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. A major portion of the gift, $150 million, will endow a fund that will help Columbia eliminate student loans for medical students who qualify for financial aid. Vagelos gave $175 million in 2023 to Columbia’s Irving Medical Center to create the Vagelos Institute for Biomedical Research Education. Through the years, the couple have given almost $500 million to Columbia medicine.
Away from higher education, Vagelos has supported Rahway Public Schools, which he attended. He explains that: “Rahway is an industrial city, and is the city where Merck headquarters began. The high school there fell on rather hard times, and the students were not reaching very high. When I went back and gave a talk there a few years ago, we started a program that challenges the students to try and get into better colleges and university.”
The family have also supported places like Doctors of the World, and Cardiac Therapy Foundation of Mid Peninsula.
ENVIRONMENT: Vagelos has been on the board of the Nature Conservancy, which has received millions from the family Their daughter Cynthia has a passion for the environment. Other grantees have included Central Park Conservancy and Donald Danforth Society, which supports the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, an “independent, not-for-profit research institute dedicated to plant science located in the Creve Coeur community.”
OTHER: The family have also supported places like FAITH, a “grassroots organization that is committed to empowering all members of the community” ; National Academy of Engineering; National Academy of Sciences; WNET Thirteen; and Martha’s Vineyard Museum.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple’s significant philanthropy at institutions of higher learning with which they have a personal connection to continue in particular. The couple’s two daughters and son should be watched as philanthropy shifts into the next generation.
CONTACT:
The Vangelos family’s foundations do not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the family but below are addresses:
The Marianthi Foundation
685 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 503-8800
Pindaros Foundation
685 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 503-8800
