During his early life Leon Levy’s close relationship to his father, the economic analyst Jerome Levy, was a major influence on his career and his values. As Leon remembered, “Dad did not view economics as a way to make money but as a way to improve society.” This was a fundamental belief Leon shared.

Leon Levy spent his professional life on Wall Street starting as a research analyst right out of the US Army, within three years he was the youngest partner of Oppenheimer & Co. During the next five decades he became one of the most innovative and influential figures in the financial world. From the beginning of his career he was a generous patron of the arts and benefactor of a wide range of causes and institutions; philanthropy was not something he turned to once he made money.

“As in my philosophy of investing, I tend to take a long view in philanthropy. In general, I prefer to give money to pursue a concept or idea. People bring ideas to me, but quite often I think of a question I would like to have answered. In philanthropy, as in business, I prefer to back a person rather than an institution, to support people and ideas.”

His experience as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army serving during the occupation of Germany following World War II made a lasting impression on Leon. A deeply patriotic man, he believed in a democratic, just and equitable society and this belief determined much of his philanthropy.

Leon was guided by his boundless curiosity, optimism and desire to enable individuals to reach their full potential. “I give funds with few strings attached. I believe that liberal arts education is both important and imperiled, the study of arts, ideas, history and politics prepares students to enjoy life as well as contribute to society.”

© Institute for Advanced Study

As an undergraduate at City College, Leon’s favorite course was in abnormal psychology and throughout his life he maintained a keen interest in studies of the brain. Late in life as President of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, he commented: “My involvement with some of the great minds in the sciences reveals the meagerness of my own achievements. Talk to a cosmologist at the Institute for Advanced Study, and any of our achievements on this puny planet shrinks to insignificance. All we can do is try to leave a legacy of good works.”

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