DONOR Larry Tanenbaum

TITLE Chairman, MLSE

GIFT $25 million to Mt. Sinai; $50 million to the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto

Larry Tanenbaum is best known in Toronto as the chairman of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, the group that runs the Maple Leafs, Raptors and other enterprises in Toronto’s sports industry.But Tanenbaum has been lauded by the provincial and federal governments and the world of scientific research for donating his time and money to causes close to his heart.

In 2006, the Tanenbaums made a $50 million contribution to the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto, followed by a $25 million donation to establish the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, a centre that conducts research into cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and tissue regeneration.

“Seeing the remarkable talent and scientific excellence at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, I am proud to contribute and help these exceptional scientists advance biomedical research in Ontario.

They are literally transforming the future of health care,”Tanenbaum said in a statement at the time.

Susan Horvath, the president of the Mount Sinai Foundation, describes Tanenbaum and wife, Judy, as charitable in both time and money.

She says the couple works to promote the causes they believe in.

“They believe so strongly that the efforts of the researchers at Mount Sinai and our Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute are going to have the greatest impact on patient care,” Horvath says.