David Geffen Is On A Quest To Give It All Away

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David Geffen Is On A Quest To Give It All Away

Now that his boy toy is finally off his back, music mogul David Geffen is free to focus on the things he cares about most, like giving away his millions of dollars to as many organizations as possible because, well, why the hell not? He’s David Geffen.

The 72-year-old billionaire just donated $100 million towards renovating Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.

“It was a quick yes for me,” Geffen, worth an estimated $6.9 billion, told The New York Times. “I had the money.”

One hundred million smackeroos is one hell of a donation. Part of the deal includes renaming the space the David Geffen Hall. (We’d say that’s a fair trade.)

The David Geffen Hall will be added to the ever-growing list of the buildings named after the entertainment magnate. It’s a pretty good assortment. We must say, the man has good taste, better, perhaps, than in young men.

What are some of the others? Let’s take a look…

The Geffen Playhouse

In 1995, Geffen, a lifelong theater enthusiast, donated $5 million to the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles. In return, the theater was renamed to the Geffen Playhouse. Today, it is one of the most esteemed in Los Angeles, featuring world class talent and collecting more than 40 regional theater awards.

The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

An extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Geffen Contemporary originally opened its doors in 1983 as the Temporary Contemporary. It was meant to be an interim exhibition hall while the museum’s main building was under construction, but the space proved so popular among critics and museum goers alike that it was kept open even after the main building was complete. In 1996, Geffen donated $5 million to the Temporary Contemporary and the museum was renamed the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Today it features large-scale sculptural works and multi-media installations, many of which are designed specifically for the space.

David Geffen Center for HIV Prevention and Health Education

A longtime advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, Geffen partnered with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York to established the David Geffen Center, which provides free, confidential HIV rapid testing, syphilis testing, and Hepatitis C testing in all five of the city’s boroughs. Geffen also partnered with the AIDS Project Los Angeles to offer similar services, as well as housing and other support to people living with HIV/AIDS, in Southern California.

The David Geffen School of Medicine at U.C.L.A.

In 2002, Geffen announced he was giving $200 million to the School of Medicine at UCLA, making it one of the two largest donations ever made to a medical school in the United States. In recognition of the gift, the school was renamed to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In 2012, Geffen donated an additional $100 million to the School to cover the full cost of attendance for up to 30 students per year beginning with the Class of 2017. His combined $300 million in donations makes him the largest individual benefactor for the entire UC system.

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