Bloomberg donates one billion US dollars to Johns Hopkins medical school

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (age 82), an alumnus of Johns Hopkins University, has made a significant contribution to his alma mater. His donation of US$1 billion (approximately 1.4 trillion Korean won) will fund scholarships for medical students, providing support to about two-thirds of the medical school students at this institution.

On July 8, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced on its official website that, starting from the 2024 fall semester, students from households with incomes of less than US$300,000 will have their tuition fully waived. Those from families earning less than US$175,000 will receive living expenses support in addition to the tuition waiver.

Johns Hopkins medical school graduates typically carry an average student loan debt of $100,000. Bloomberg's donation will have reduced those debts to around US$60,000 by around 2029. The charity group also donated US$1.8 billion to the institution in 2018.

The foundation noted that the donation aims to improve the U.S. public healthcare system, which has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The philanthropy stated that the high cost of medical school has kept many talented lower-income students from enrolling, graduating, or working in the fields and communities most in need. It added that gravitation toward profitable medical areas has caused a decline in the number and quality of doctors and medical staff in the public health sector.

Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the charity group, further explained the reason for his donation in the group's annual report that the high cost of medical school education too often bars students from enrolling while the U.S. faces a severe shortage of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals. Bloomberg graduated from Johns Hopkins University and earned an MBA from Harvard University before entering Wall Street and founding the financial information company Bloomberg. According to Forbes, he is ranked as the 15th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $106.2 billion (approximately 148.68 trillion Korean won).


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com