Pau and Marc Gasol

SOURCE OF WEALTH: NBA

FUNDING AREAS: Childhood Obesity

OVERVIEW: Brothers Pau and Marc Gasol conduct philanthropy through the Gasol Foundation, which works to reduce childhood obesity rates through the promotion of healthy habits to children and their families.

BACKGROUND: Born in Spain in 1980, Pau Gasol was drafted into the NBA in 2001 and was rookie of the year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two championships alongside Kobe Bryant. He is also an accomplished basketball player on the international stage.

Born in Spain in 1985, Marc Gasol is the younger brother of Pau Gasol. Marc Gasol played with the Memphis Grizzlies and later won his first NBA championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. He is a three-time all star.

ISSUES:

PUBLIC HEALTH AND YOUTH: Through their Gasol Foundation, the Gasols work to reduce childhood obesity rates through the promotion of healthy habits to children and their families. The Gasol brothers’ parents worked in medicine. The launched their foundation in 2013 in the U.S. and later in their native Spain. It runs programs, including VIDA! Health and Wellness, a family program offered, in collaboration with Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, which “allows children ages 6-12 and their families to learn the tools necessary to live a healthy lifestyle”; and ENERGY (Education Nutrition Exercise Rest and Goodness to Youth), in partnership with YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. Other partners include UNICEF and Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation.

LOOKING FORWARD: The Gasol brothers are both winding down their careers in the NBA. Perhaps giving through their foundation will ramp up down the line. It’s also worth noting that the brothers may have other more direct avenues of giving and some important gifts may be missing from this rundown.

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