One of the richest men in the world stamped his legacy as one of the biggest philanthropists in Pittsburgh when he died in April and left $800 million for the city.
Henry L. Hillman, who was 98 years old when he died, divvied up the money among 14 organizations serving southwestern Pennsylvania, with $700 million of it going to the Henry L. Hillman Foundation bearing his name.
Forbes estimated his net worth to be $2.6 billion.
He and his wife, Elsie, who died in 2015, in their lifetimes gave many more millions and their names to major projects in Pittsburgh, including the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Hillman Hall at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh, the Hillman Center for future technology at Carnegie Mellon.
The Hillmans also gave millions to end hunger in the city, help at-risk youth, provide grants for startups and more.
Henry Hillman's willed gift in April landed him among the top 10 charitable donations in 2017 throughout the country, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He came in fourth, behind Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Dell.
Hillman has something in common with those software giants. He was one of the early investors in Silicon Valley, building off of the good family fortune bestowed upon him by his father, John H. Hillman Jr.
The Hillmans have a long lineage of investing, especially during Pittsburgh's industrial age of coal, coke and steel.
Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of top donors and the amounts they gave are listed below:
Biggest Gifts Announced by Individuals or Their Foundations in 2017
| Amount | Donor | Purpose or beneficiary |
|---|---|---|
| $4.6 billion | Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for endowment |
| $1.9 billion | Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician | Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, for education, housing, science, and improving the criminal-justice system |
| $1 billion | Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan | Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, for endowment |
| $800 million (bequest) | Henry Hillman, the late chairman of the Hillman Company | Hillman Family Foundations, primarily to benefit Pittsburgh |
| $600 million | Florence Irving, the widow of Herbert Irving, a co-founder and former vice chairman of Sysco Corporation | Columbia University Herbert and Florence Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center |
| $500 million | Helen Diller Foundation; the late Helen Diller was the wife of Sanford Diller, founder of Prometheus Real Estate Group | University of California at San Francisco, for student aid, faculty recruitment, and biomedical and other programs |
| $250 million | Roy Vagelos, a former chairman of the Merck & Company pharmaceuticals corporation, and his wife, Diana | Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, to endow scholarships and for research and medical programs |
| $219.5 million | A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation; Ms. Clark's late husband led Clark Construction Group and Clark Enterprises | University of Maryland, to endow scholarships, professorships, and programs |
| $200 million | Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom, and his wife, Susan | University of California at Irvine, to create a new health-sciences college |
| $165 million | Jack and Laura Dangermond, co-founders of Environmental Systems Research Institute, a software company | Nature Conservancy, to purchase and preserve coastal land in Santa Barbara County, Calif. |