Columbia Expansion Lands $40M in Donations

NEW YORK CITY-A portion of the funding for Columbia University’s planned expansion into Manhattanville is coming from a handful of well-heeled alumni. Add Arthur Samberg and Mario Gabelli to a list of Columbia Business School alumni, including Henry Kravis and Ronald Perelman, who have made multimillion-dollar pledges to finance construction of the school’s new facilities; the school said Monday that Samberg and Gabelli had pledged a total of $40 million.

“I had the good fortune to attend a number of elite schools, but many people don’t have the advantages I had,” says Samberg, manager of Hawkes Financial Services LLC and a member of Acadia Woods Partners LLC, who pledged $25 million. “In supporting Columbia Business School, I’m helping others, who didn’t grow up in the same environment, get a chance to advance.”