California's Mystery Land Benefactor

The LA Times identifies retired mathemetician David Gelbaum, who has quietly given at least $250 million to preserve California's wildlife corridors.

1 minute read

October 28, 2004, 5:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

David Gelbaum, 55 and retired from the "rarefied world of Wall Street hedge funds" has given more money "to conservation causes in California than anyone else. His gifts have helped protect 1,179 square miles of mountain and desert landscapes, an area the size of Yosemite National Park.

...One conservation deal, land trust experts say, is the largest single purchase of private land ever handed over to the U.S. government for one purpose: to leave it alone."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Read the full story: The Man Behind the Land

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 in The Los Angeles Times

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