Who Is Doctor Ruth Gottesman

A historic, billion-dollar donation to a medical school in New York City has provided students with free tuition moving forward. Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx received a $1 billion donation from Dr. Ruth Gottesman, former professor and chair of the school's board of trustees.

The massive donation -- a "transformational gift," is among the largest ever made to a university in the United States and seemingly the largest made to an American medical school, according to the institution. The $1 billion donation will ensure that no student at Einstein will have to pay tuition again.

Free Tuition - All current, fourth-year students will be reimbursed their spring 2024 semester tuition and, beginning at the start of the next term, all students moving forward will receive free tuition at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Tuition and fees for one year at the medical school total over $63,000, and more than half the medical students owe upward of $200,000 in student debt after graduating. Almost half of students are New Yorkers and nearly 60% of students at the university are women

David Sandy Gottesman - The donation comes from Gottesman and her late husband, David "Sandy" Gottesman, who was the founder of First Manhattan Co. and an early investor in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, before he died in 2022 at 96 years old.