Erica Orden looks at Jerry Speyer’s role at MoMA as part of profile of the Speyers as a philanthropy power couple in New York Magazine:
How He Got the Top Job
As a trustee, Speyer helped MoMA buy the Dorset Hotel site in 1996 for its subsequent expansion. (His deal-making shaved $25 million off the price.) Then he persuaded the Giuliani administration to contribute $65 million (of the $858 million total). He became chairman in 2007.His Next Challenge
In 2007, MoMA sold a patch of land on 54th Street to the developer Hines, which plans a 1,250-foot condo designed by Jean Nouvel. MoMA is counting on 75,000 square feet of new space in the tower—which has been “delayed indefinitely.” (It’s now at the public-review stage, albeit without full financing.)Their rivals for power:Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis
Him: Metropolitan Museum, Mount Sinai. Her: president of MoMA; board member at Sloan-Kettering and, oddly, the Qatar Museums Authority.Sid and Mercedes Bass
He’s vice-chairman of MoMA; she’s vice-chairman at Carnegie and the Met Opera. Gave $25 million to the Met in 2006.Leonard and Evelyn Lauder
He’s Mr. Whitney Museum—where he’s given $131 million in ’08 alone. She started the Breast Cancer Research Center and sits on the board of Sloan-Kettering.
Two for the Money (New York Magazine)
