Last update - 00:00 05/03/2007
American billionaire donates $75m to Hadassah for new wing
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
The Hadassah Women's Organization announced on Sunday that Jewish American billionaire William (Bill) Davidson would donate $75 million for the construction of a new hospital tower at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein-Kerem, in Jerusalem.
The gift will be among the largest private donations received in Israel in recent years, and one of the largest ever made to a Jewish charity.
The cornerstone for the new 14-story hospital tower was placed on Sunday in a special ceremony. Its construction will be completed in about five years. The building will house 500 beds with 20 operating rooms and modern treatment facilities.
The cost, estimated at $210 million, is to come from donations raised by the Hadassah Women's Organization, which at its peak numbered some 400,000 members.
Among them was the billionaire's mother, in memory of whom the building is to be named. Her 83-year-old son has made his fortune in the glass industry, and is currently the owner of the Detroit Pistons basketball team and Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team.
Last year, Davidson was ranked the 64th richest person in the United States, with private capital of $3.5 billion. He has recently donated funds for the construction of the Davidson Southern Wall Archaeological Garden and to the Technion in Haifa.