Simons Foundation Donates $500 Million to Stony Brook University

Hedge fund billionaire Jim Simons made one of the largest gifts in the history of higher education, donating $500 million to Stony Brook, the Long Island institution where he once taught math. The donation was made through the Simons Foundation, a philanthropic organization run by Simons and his wife, Marilyn. It’s the seventh-largest donation directly to an American university ever and the second-largest gift ever received by a public college.

Jim Simons chaired the math department at Stony Brook before making billions thanks to the Renaissance Technologies hedge fund he founded, while Marilyn Simons is an alumna of the college. The donation will go directly to Stony Brook’s endowment fund, supporting functions such as financial aid and professor salaries. Jim and Marilyn Simons are worth $28.1 billion, and are among the top 25 American philanthropists.

The Simons Foundation’s mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. Since its founding in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons, the foundation has been a champion of basic science through grant funding, support for research and public engagement. We believe in asking big questions and providing sustained support to researchers working to unravel the mysteries of the universe.