Bernard Osher (born 1927) is an American businessman, best known for his work as a philanthropist.

Early life and Education

Osher was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family and raised in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...

. In 1948, he graduated with a B.A. from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

Career

Osher began his career in southern Maine, owning and running the family's hardware store on Main Street in Biddeford.After having worked at Oppenheimer & Company in New York, he moved to California, where he became a founding director of

World Savings The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

, which became the second largest savings institution in the United States. World Savings ultimately merged with the

Wachovia Corporation Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

. An avid art collector, Osher also purchased the auction house,

Butterfield & Butterfield Bonhams and Butterfield was a large American auction house, founded in 1865 by William Butterfield in San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financia ...

, which became the fourth-largest auction house in the world. In 1999, he sold that company to

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

. In 2005, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' listed him as the 584th richest man in the world, and in 2006, 746th. Also, in the November 26, 2007 issue of ''

Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'', he was listed as the 11th most generous philanthropist. The article cited the $805 million that he has given to arts, educational, and social services in his life.

Philanthropy

Osher has been a notable philanthropist since 1977 when he founded the Bernard Osher Foundation. The foundation is a major supporter of higher education and the arts, and Osher has consequently become known as "the quiet philanthropist." An initiative of the Foundation has funded over 120

Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) offer noncredit courses with no assignments or grades to adults over age 50. Since 2001, philanthropist Bernard Osher has made grants from the Bernard Osher Foundation to launch OLLI programs at 120 unive ...

at universities and colleges in the United States since 2001. Since founding the Bernard Osher Foundation, nearly 80 percent of its grants have gone to support educational programs, and seventeen percent support arts organizations. His donations have gone towards causes such as scholarships for higher education through the Osher Fellows Program, and Scholarships for University Reentry Students aged 25 to 50 under his Osher Reentry Scholarship Program. Other causes include supporting programs addressing the educational needs of seasoned adults at institutions of higher education under the

, Selected integrative medicine programs, and Arts and educational programs in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and the State of Maine. $70 million in scholarships are given to California community college students, and $16 million worth of scholarships to the University of California at Berkeley's Incentive Awards Program, which helps poor students attend the university.Bernard Osher's Philanthropy Page

Faces of Philanthropy The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

, accessed December 23, 2010.Profile of a ‘Quiet Philanthropist’: Bernard Osher

The Chronicle of Philanthropy ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine and digital platform that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, D.C., it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in ph ...

, accessed December 23, 2010. In 2006, the Bernard Osher Foundation donated $723.2 million in support of these and other programs, resulting in the creation of new programs at several institutions in the United States that promote lifelong learning. This donation earned him the designation as The

Chronicle of Philanthropy ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine and digital platform that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, D.C., it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in ph ...

's third most generous donor in their annual survey of the largest donors in America. Osher plans to give away his entire fortune, as he has no heirs, but he enjoys the opportunity of helping members of several generations lead more fulfilling lives by his contributions.

Personal life

He is married to

Barbro Sachs-Osher Barbro Sachs-Osher (born 21 May 1940) is a former Swedish honorary consul general in Los Angeles and San Francisco and a well-known philanthropist, chair of the Bernard Osher Foundation and of the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation. Biography ...

. His sister was the late

Marion Sandler Marion Osher Sandler (October 17, 1930 – June 1, 2012) was the co-CEO (with her husband Herbert Sandler) of Golden West Financial Corporation and World Savings Bank. In 2004, after 43 years running Golden West Financial Corporation, she ...

Awards

Osher was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

in 2017. Osher was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

in 2015.

References

External links

Osher Foundation

* ttp://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/004638.shtml Bowdoin College {{DEFAULTSORT:Osher, Bernard 1927 births Living people American billionaires Bowdoin College alumni 21st-century American philanthropists People from Biddeford, Maine 21st-century American Jews