PHILANTHROPY: In the End, a Friend Indeed

Harry Weinberg was a pugnacious businessman who probably had his share of enemies when he was alive. But the real estate baron made a final gesture that will win him friends for years to come. Weinberg, who died last week at 82, willed nearly $1 billion to a family trust to help the poor. The sum represents his entire estate, except for $3 million he left his grandchildren. The trust will distribute up to $45 million a year to the needy as Weinberg dictated: one-quarter to Jewish charities, one-quarter to non-Jewish groups and the rest to organizations that serve the poor, regardless of race or religion.

A grammar school dropout, Weinberg built his fortune by buying Baltimore real estate at bargain prices and later investing in transit companies and Hawaiian properties. Weinberg’s largesse was not entirely a surprise. During a 1984 visit to Israel, he donated $1 million to buy air conditioners for the country’s nursing homes.