John Kluge, UVA donor, billionaire and media mogul, died this morning at the age of 95.
In 2009, Kluge ranked 35th in Forbes’ 400 richest Americans with an estimated net worth of about $6.5 billion. Kluge was ranked as the richest man in America in 1987.
Kluge made his fortune by investing $4 million in Metropolitan Broadcasting Corp. in 1959. The company was later renamed Metromedia, Inc. In May 1985, Kluge sold the company’s TV stations to Rupert Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox; the stations later became part of the FOX TV network.
In a statement, UVA President Teresa Sullivan says she recently spent time with Kluge and his wife, Maria Tussi Kluge, on two occasions. Kluge was a prominent donor to UVA; his gifts to the university since 1980 total more than $11.1 million.
"He was one of the most charming and engaging individuals I have ever met. I was struck by his keen mind, his inquisitive nature, and his extraordinary commitment to higher education," says Sullivan. "John Kluge was a rare visionary whose interests spanned the arts, aid for minority students, and innovative health care—and who used his many gifts to help make the world a better place."
"John Kluge was a remarkable individual, a brilliant self-made man whose generosity knew few bounds. He was always interested in change and looking for ways to make things better," says John Wynne, UVA Rector, in a statement. "John’s lifelong efforts to help mankind, especially through his giving to higher education, have been extraordinary. Certainly, the University of Virginia will be forever indebted to him for his many gifts, but especially for his magnificent gift of his beloved Morven Farms." The 749-acre Morven Farm is held in perpetuity by the UVA Foundation, and was part of a 2001 land gift totaling 7,379 acres.
“I was fortunate to have spent a good amount of time with John and Tussi, and I will never forget those rich and engaging conversations," says Wynne. "The University has been blessed to have both John and Tussi as strong supporters of its endeavors.”
Other Kluge gifts to UVA include a collection of Australian Aboriginal art to the Bayly Art Museum, much of it housed at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, and a $1 million pledge to the UVA School of Medicine to create the John W. Kluge Distinguished Professorship in Urology.
