David Shaw and Beth Kobliner

SOURCE OF WEALTH: D.E. Shaw Group

FUNDING AREAS: Health, Education & Science Research, Human Services, Arts & Culture, Jewish Causes

OVERVIEW: David Shaw and Beth Kobliner, support health, education and science research, human services, arts and culture, and Jewish causes through the Shaw Family Endowment Fund. Available tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded just under $9.1 million in grants in 2017.

BACKGROUND: David Elliot Shaw studied at the University of California, San Diego and earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He was a computer science professor at Columbia University before moving into the financial industry as a vice president for technology at Morgan Stanley. In 1988, he founded his own hedge fund, D.E. Shaw & Co., which was among the first investment companies to use advanced investment technologies. The firm’s portfolio value exceeded $42 billion in 2012. Beth Kobliner, a graduate of Brown University, is a journalist, commentator and author in the field of personal finance.

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & SCIENCE RESEARCH: Shaw has served on the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and much of the couple’s education philanthropy has been directed toward science and STEM programs. At Harvard University, Shaw and Kobliner have supported the Institute for Applied Computational Science, and at the Georgia Institute of Technology they supported College of Computing. Additional past higher education grantees include Yale, MIT, Columbia and Princeton. Shaw and Kobliner have also supported National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. 

HEALTH: Past grantees in the area of health include the Prostate Cancer Fund, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the New York Presbyterian Fund and St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center.

HUMAN SERVICES: Shaw and Kobliner have supported Innovations for Poverty Action and United in Harmony, which aims to "provide impoverished children with hope and opportunities." 

ARTS AND CULTURE: The couple’s arts and culture philanthropy has prioritized New York City. Past grantees include Symphony Space and the Young People's Chorus of New York City.

JEWISH CAUSES: Shaw and Kobliner have supported New York City’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Manhattan Jewish Experience Synagogue. 

LOOKING FORWARD: Shaw and Kobliner will likely to continue their support of science and technology programs at leading universities across the U.S. New York City is likely to remain a geographic priority.

CONTACT:

The Shaw Family Endowment Fund
120 W. 45th Street, 39th Floor
New York, NY 10036