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 The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

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 San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, 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 Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the U ...

from Kenya and founder of the Green Belt Movement, was awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in 2004. In addition to his work with the Goldman Environmental Prize, Goldman supported

beautification Beautification is the process of making visual improvements to a town, city, or urban area. This most often involves planting trees, shrubbery, and other greenery, but frequently also includes adding decorative or historic-style street lights an ...

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 The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

, including the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and the Rhoda Goldman Plaza. Among his California projects were investments in

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ef ...

, and protection of

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coas ...

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 The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

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

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 The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Richard 1920 births 2010 deaths American philanthropists People from San Francisco University of California, Berkeley alumni Jewish American philanthropists Haas family