Estate of McDonald's Heiress to Donate $1.5 Billion to Salvation Army
Tue Jan 20, 4:15 AM ET
In one of the largest individual charitable gifts ever, the estate of McDonald's heiress Joan B. Kroc is about to drop a one-time cash donation of $ 1.5 billion into the Salvation Army kettle, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported.
The Salvation Army plans to announce the donation as early as today. Mrs. Kroc, widow of Ray Kroc, the milkshake salesman who founded McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - News) in 1955, died of brain cancer in October at the age of 75. Before her death, she specified that the donation be earmarked to build and operate community centers around the country.
The bequest stipulates that half the money go toward construction of 30 to 35 new centers, which would provide recreational and educational facilities to the public. The other half is supposed to go into an endowment, from which the interest will be used to help offset operating costs.
The eclectic parceling out of the Kroc estate, valued at more than $2 billion, began last fall. Until now, the biggest publicized gift was a donation of about $200 million to National Public Radio. Ronald McDonald Houses, the company's charity geared to helping sick children and their families, received $60 million, and the universities of Notre Dame and San Diego each received $50 million. The estate has already designated the recipients of all its funds and is in the process of distributing them.
The Kroc donation to the Salvation Army is an all-cash, lump-sum gift. As Mrs. Kroc sold many of her McDonald's shares years ago, the donation will have no direct impact on McDonald's stock. Her husband, Ray, left her his estate, with no instructions that she give any portion of it to the Salvation Army. In the past decade, Mrs. Kroc has made smaller donations to the organization.
Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter Shirley Leung contributed to this report.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...01200415000621
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