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Jewish Billionaire Michael Moritz Donates £75 Mllion to Oxford

July 12, 2012 5:14 pm 5 comments

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Atara Arbesfeld

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Michael Moritz at TechCrunch.

On Wednesday, Jewish investor Michael Moritz made one of Europe’s single largest monetary gifts ever to Oxford University, funding an annual scholarship program for three years to benefit students in financial need.

Moritz earned his fortune at Sequoia Capital as an early investor in websites, such as Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, and his gift of £75 million is said to be one of the five largest philanthropic grants ever made in Great Britain.

This fall, the first one hundred scholarships will be given to Oxford students who come from families with annual incomes less than £16,000 – the threshold to qualify for free meals at the university. In Oxford’s student body, one in 10 undergraduates come from families with incomes below that level.

An Oxford graduate, Moritz said he was motivated to give the monetary grant in order to make possible “the dreams and aspirations of individuals determined to excel, while also safeguarding the academic excellence on which Oxford’s global reputation stands,” as reported by the UK’s Daily Mail.

The hardships of his German-Jewish parents also inspired Moritz, whose father also studied at Oxford and was able to earn his PhD because of financial assistance.

“My father was plucked as a teenager from Nazi Germany and was able to attend a very good school in London entirely on scholarship,” Moritz said.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Moritz’s net worth is estimated at £1.08 billion. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife, American writer Harriet Heyman, and two children.

In May, Moritz stepped down from his daily executive role at Sequoia Capital to become its chairman, as he revealed that he is suffering from a rare medical condition that could become debilitating.

5 Comments

Paul Kamakande

December 3, 2012
5:36 am

Hi Commonwealth Friends,

We have registered with Registrar of Political Parties & Candidates Commission in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a political party named: MAPAI LEVITES PARTY. The party was registered in 2007 and went to elections in 2007 and 2012, however no candidates have won under party endorsement to date.

The party believes in every way to support and stand for the Nation of Israel at all times as Israel was established by the God of the Heavens and the Holy Torah.

Firstly PNG is 99% Christian nation.. The Torah (Old testament) and the new testament with a total 66 books of the Holy Bible is used in churches and read by Christians throughout PNG.. The basic faith is the believe in the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob (Israel). God’s Son Jesus was believed to have been sent to die on the Roman Cross for the Sins of mankind to bring or reconcile lost souls back to the Heavenly Father in Heaven.

We as a party believe too that apart from the common Christian (Christ Follower) Faith, we do have policies designed to build a dynamic and vibrant bilateral relations between PNG and Israel, in the fields of trade & industry, science & technology, computing and communications, construction and manufacturing and security surveillance and participation in joint military training and military hardware purchase including the joint applications of such hardware in times of war.

On the political front, we expect to have Members of Parliament voicing support for the recognition and voting in favor of all that Israel believes in and stands for as an Independent Nation.

We believe in Israel as the chosen people of God and believe the land as far as river Euphrates and Nile were given to the Israelis by God of Israel and the Torah and will be possessed in the prophetic timing of God.

So much to say for now, however, we need someone or an appropriate organization to respond so we PNG and Israel can get down to the business of being the two nations – one Jewish and the other Gentile (from outermost parts from Jerusalem) coming together to work as two brothers with Jesus Christ as our Elder Brother.

Please reply and open a mission of partnership and collaboration and assistance in kind or donation for Mapai Levites Party as Party in PNG Political life of which I am it’s Founder and President.

Best Regards and Lots of Love from PNG to you all.

God Loves you.

Sharom! Shalom!

PAUL KAMAKANDE
President – MAPAI LEVITES PARTY

T: 675 71455310
F: 675 3250165
E: kamakandepaul@yahoo.com
Postal: PO Box 1334, Port Moresby, National Capital District, PA

Reply
Fortunee

July 19, 2012
2:54 pm

Pity his money doesn’t support Jewish/Israeli causes.

Reply
Debbie Mann

July 13, 2012
5:29 pm

I wonder how many Jewish students will benefit from this charitable act. Imagine what $10 million could do for wounded IDF or British soldiers.

Reply
howard banks

July 12, 2012
8:58 pm

Michael,was blessed with a good fortune,and I hope with good health,and wants to share it with others,GOD BLESS MICHAEL,AND HIS FAMILY,and may he live a long and healthy life.

Reply
chony

July 12, 2012
6:44 pm

Just imagine what just $10 million could do for the Yeshiva system…

Reply

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