Sue Gross
/FUNDING AREAS: Health
OVERVIEW: Sue Gross moves philanthropy through the Sue J. Gross Foundation, which she founded in 2017. She has supported places like Doctors Without Borders and Alzheimer’s Family Center in Orange County.
BACKGROUND: Sue Gross attended Saddleback College. She is a significant owner of residential real estate in Southern California. Gross is the ex-wife of PIMCO cofounder and billionaire Bill Gross. The two divorced in 2017. She is noted for her art collection and sold Pablo Picasso’s “Le Repos” for $36.9 million in 2018.
ISSUES:
HEALTH: Much of Gross’ past giving was done in collaboration with her ex-husband Bill through their now defunct foundation. They made a $20 million donation to the Hoag Hospital Foundation near their home in Orange County, California, to support its Women's Pavilion. They also gave $20 million to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for the new Sue and Bill Gross Surgery and Procedure Center. Gross and Sue are the single largest donor to Doctors Without Borders, contributing approximately $25 million over the years. To start 2016, the then couple donated $40 million to the UCI to rename the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing. Independent of Bill, Gross gave to the Alzheimer’s Family Center in Orange County, CA in 2018.
OTHER: Gross steadily supports her school Saddleback College in Orange County, California. She established the Sue and Bill Gross Scholars Endowment, and a few years prior, the Gross Scholars Program, which provided hundreds of thousands in scholarships for students in the “forgotten middle.” She also gave to Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice in 2019.
LOOKING FORWARD: Grantmaking through her own Sue J. Gross Foundation is just kicking off, but Sue Gross should be watched for much greater giving down the line. Away from the health field, her work in the arts should be considered as well; she is an active art collector.
CONTACT:
The Sue J. Gross Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the family but below is an address:
Sue J. Gross Foundation
P.O. Box 15014
Albany, NY 12212
