Beyond philanthropy, Lenfests show personal commitment

May 10, 2009|By Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Culture Writer
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  • Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest at the Curtis Institute of Music, which they have given millions.
Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest at the Curtis Institute of Music, which they have given…
  • Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest at the Curtis Institute of Music, which they have given millions.
  • Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest at the groundbreaking for the expansion of the Curtis Institute of Music. When Gov. Rendell decided to commit $15 million in state money to the project, he said he had done so because Gerry twisted his arm.
  • Gerry Lenfest in a photo published in 1973, when he worked for Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. "Individual responsibility - no committees," is how he describes Annenberg's management structure. Later, the Annenberg style of philanthropy would become an inspiration to Lenfest.
  • Marguerite Lenfest (left) on a bike at Wilson College. The Lenfests have given Wilson more than $25 million.
  • Gerry Lenfest in his office with a drawing of a favorite project, the American Revolution Center in Valley Forge. "I've been very fortunate in life to have had people around me who are good at what they are doing," he says.

When Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest sit still long enough to accept the Philadelphia Award this week, it will be entirely appropriate to fill the air with honorifics and superlatives:

The big cash behind the expansion of the Curtis Institute of Music. On track to become the most generous donors in the history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

But the unseen hands of the Lenfests as civic catalysts have been every bit as deft as the ones signing checks.

"He does not give just for the sake of giving. He becomes involved in the things he gives to. He's a very smart fellow," said Ralph J. Roberts, a longtime friend and, as founder of Comcast Corp., former business rival.

"Gerry draws all his friends into his other philanthropic activities," said Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger. "I feel like I've done more for the Curtis Institute of Music than I've done for any nonprofit institution other than Columbia."

It's hard to believe now, but the Lenfest name scarcely would have stirred the lust of fund-raisers a decade ago. Then, in 2000, the family's net worth jumped $1.2 billion when Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest sold his cable business, the Philadelphia region's largest.

The couple have worn their wealth as if it's a temporary condition, which - at least in scale - it is: The Lenfests decided to distribute the vast majority of their proceeds to charity; now, nine years later, they are coming to the end of a spectacular philanthropic spree that has given away or committed nearly $800 million.

"We've given a lot of money to a lot of organizations, and I'm not sure we can keep going at this pace. We've given away the bulk of our wealth," said Gerry Lenfest, 78. "We'll have to go into hibernation."

Not hibernation, perhaps - and they will hardly be destitute. Lenfest has not forgotten how to make money. He is involved in a variety of business pursuits and investments - two car dealerships in the area, a boatyard in Rhode Island, a company that develops training products for pilots and other air crew.

Lenfest largesse will live on through the Lenfest College Scholarship Program and, in a more modest form, through the smaller charities established by the three Lenfest children at their parents' behest.

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