Richard N. Goldman (April 16, 1920 – November 29, 2010) was an American billionaire

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

who was the co-founder of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1990 with his wife, Rhoda Goldman. He founded the insurance company Goldman Insurance and Risk Management, and with his wife he established the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund in 1951.

Philanthropy

Richard and Rhoda Goldman established the Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco, California, in 1990. Goldman's foundation, which is sometimes nicknamed the "Green Nobel," awarded six prizes annually worth $150,000 USD to environmental activists representing six regions of the world. Approximately $13.2 million has been awarded to activists from more than 70 countries since the Goldmans established the award, as of 2010. The 1991 Goldman Environment Prize winner Wangari Maathai from Kenya and founder of the Green Belt Movement, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. In addition to his work with the Goldman Environmental Prize, Goldman supported beautification projects in San Francisco, and co-founded the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. Through his foundation, which is worth more than one billion dollars, Goldman funded projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and the Rhoda Goldman Plaza. Among his California projects were investments in solar power, and protection of

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...

forests and sealife. In 2004, he was awarded the Chairman's Medal in the 11th Annual Heinz Award. The Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley is named after the Goldmans.

Personal life

Richard Goldman was the son of lawyer Richard Samuel Goldman and his wife Alice Wertheim Goldman. He died at his home in San Francisco on November 29, 2010, at the age of 90. He was survived by his daughter,

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

, and two sons, John and

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

. He was predeceased by his wife, philanthropist Rhoda Haas Goldman, who died in 1996 and their son, Richard, who died in 1989. His grandson is attorney Daniel Goldman. A memorial service was held at

Congregation Emanu-El Emanu-El (also spelled Emanuel) ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל ''imanuél'', " God swith us", from עִמָּנוּ ''imánu'', "with us" + אֵל ''el'', "God"), or Temple Emanuel, may refer to the following Jewish synagogues: Australia * Emanuel ...

in San Francisco.

References

External links

Finding Aid for the Richard N. and Rhoda H. Goldman papers, 1863-2003
The Bancroft Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Richard 1920 births 2010 deaths American philanthropists People from San Francisco University of California, Berkeley alumni Jewish American philanthropists Haas family