Business & Professional

ENTREPRENEUR

On His Own

Self-made philanthropist donates

art museum to MSU.

Adam Finkel

Special to the Jewish News

0

n the morning of Nov. 20, there
were several events that could
have aroused concern for Eli
Broad. Real estate and finance, two indus-
tries that augmented his wealth to nearly
$7 billion, were in disarray. The assets of
his philanthropy, one of America's largest,
were diminishing — just as the needs of the
recipients became increasingly urgent.
But there he was, on stage at the Los
Angeles Public Library, expressing his deep
concern for his hometown — Detroit. He
remarked how, during his World War II
youth, Michigan was the arsenal of democ-
racy and General Motors was the greatest
company on Earth.
"I'm concerned" Broad, 75, remarked
with distress, "We need an auto industry ...
I think the answer is they've gotta have a
major restructuring"
His response was rooted in his deep
business knowledge: create a great new
American automotive industry, improve PR,
end dependence on public bailouts, have the
government make major purchases over the
next few years for cars that reach mileage
efficiency standards.
Outside of the forum, two months later, Eli
Broad was more sentimentalin an interview
with the Detroit Jewish News, he recalled his
early years. He loved his childhood during
World War II and said it was a great time
and place to grow up. "Detroit had a unique
sense of values and family, community and
tradition:' he said.
Much more so than New York or Los
Angeles, he said, two cities he's very familiar
with today.

Detroit Roots

The first weekend in January1956 was the
start of something big. Broad and his part-
ner, Donald Kaufman of Detroit, began sell-
ing homes without basements. The houses,
priced at $13,740, sold out. Kaufman and
Broad were in business.
He would start two Fortune 500 compa-
nies — his real estate dynasty KB Home,
and the financial behemoth SunAmerica,
which became a subsidiary of American
International Group.
Timing, especially in retrospect, was a

great force for his success. Broad's entrepre-
neurial precocity, though, was deeply rooted
in his experiences before KB Home.
During his youth, he learned the value
of hard work. He delivered papers. He sold
shoes downtown. He bought and sold
stamps by the pound at age 12. He went door
to door at Michigan State University selling
garbage bags five or six nights a week. He
collected film each evening. He helped out at
his father's five and dime store. He worked
day and night.
"I knew I had to make it on my own',' he
said,"and these experiences instilled in me a
Midwestern worth ethic"
Broad's full-time affairs these days are
his philanthropic pursuits. The Broad
Foundations, now among the nation's largest,
seek to be entrepreneurial change agents for
the public good in education, science, civic
affairs and the arts.
The contributions are global — including
the Peres Center for Peace in the city of Jaffa,
Israel, the American Committee for the Tel
Aviv Foundation, the American Friends of
the Israel Museum, the YIVO Institute for
Jewish Research and the construction of
the National Museum of American Jewish
History.

From top:

Eli and Edythe Broad

Eli Broad at

graduation from
Detroit Central High

School, 1951

Donald Kaufman and

Eli Broad, 1957

The winning con-

ceptual rendering
from Zaha Hadid

Architects of London,

England.

Educational Endeavors

The Broad Foundations are also active
contributors to programs in the state of
Michigan and the city of Detroit. On Nov.
12, 2003, he announced before the Detroit
Economic Club a $6 million investment in
a partnership between the Detroit Public
Schools and the MSU College of Education
to create "a link between these two institu-
tions of learning that will give high-achiev-
ing students the resources they need to go to
State, study in the best teacher preparation
program in the nation and then come home
to Detroit as teachers."
"Eli thinks big. He really is one of the
visionaries of our time said Dr. Lou Anna
K. Simon, president of Michigan State
University. Broad most recently endowed the
Broad Art Museum at MSU, in addition to
the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli
Broad Graduate School of Management.
He said his time at Thirkell Elementary,
Durfey Junior High and Central High
School in Detroit, along with Michigan

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On His Own on page A26

March 5 • 2009

A25