Henry R. Kravis ’69, cofounder, cochairman, and co-CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and cochair of the School’s Board of Overseers, has pledged a gift of $100 million to Columbia Business School. It is the largest gift in the School’s history.
The gift will be used to support the construction of the School’s new facilities, which will be part of Columbia University’s expansion into Manhattanville, just north of the University’s Morningside Campus. One of the School’s two new buildings will be named The Henry R. Kravis Building in recognition of Kravis’s extraordinary generosity. The search for an architect is currently under way.
“Henry Kravis clearly understands that Columbia’s long-term vitality depends fundamentally on both the financial resources and the physical space needed to support talented students and faculty,” said Columbia University President Lee Bollinger. “As cochair of the Business School’s Board of Overseers, Henry continues to lead by example, and his historic gift indelibly underscores his commitment to training new generations of leaders.”
Columbia Business School’s expansion into Manhattanville will elevate the School’s role as a source of global business innovation and economic policy. “Our new home in Manhattanville will reflect the fast-paced, high-tech, and highly social character of business in the 21st century,” said Dean Glenn Hubbard. “Further, it will allow students, alumni, and neighboring communities to collaborate and develop new ideas that not only transform business practice, but also reinforce the potential for the application of business principles to solve multifaceted problems and improve the world in which we live.”
The new campus will also help broaden Columbia Business School’s many community engagement programs. These include the Columbia Community Business Program, which provides guidance and support to entrepreneurs in Upper Manhattan, and several student-run programs that focus on community outreach. “We’re not just constructing a building — we are creating a community of entrepreneurs,” said Kravis. “I hope these new facilities will be a place where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.”
A member of the School’s Board of Overseers since 1990, Kravis is a devoted member of the Columbia Business School community who often participates in School conferences and events. He has previously provided generous financial support to such School initiatives as Columbia CaseWorks, the Meyer Feldberg Distinguished Fellowship Program, and multiple endowed professorships.
A pioneer in the private equity industry, Kravis cofounded leading global investment firm KKR in 1976. Among his many nonprofit and corporate board activities, Kravis serves on the board of the Council of Foreign Relations and is a vice chair of Rockefeller University’s Board of Trustees.
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