Leslie Gonda

Leslie Gonda (August 20, 1919 – March 16, 2018) was a Hungarian-born American businessman, philanthropist, and Holocaust survivor. He was the co-founder (with his son Louis Gonda) of International Lease Finance Corporation.

Early life Gonda was born László Goldschmied to a Jewish family in the town of Mezőtúr, Hungary, on August 20, 1919. He changed his name to escape the Nazis during World War II. He earned a degree from the University of Magyarovar.

Career In 1945, Gonda moved to Venezuela, beginning a local wares business which expanded into real estate and construction.

Philanthropy

Gonda was a benefactor of many medical institutions, museums, and charities. He donated the learning center at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. He made large donations to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where the Gonda building is named after him. He made large donations to the UCLA Medical Center where the Gonda (Goldschmied) Neuroscience and Genetics Research Center and the Gonda Diabetes Center are also named after him. He donated to the City of Hope Cancer Center and is known for his generosity in giving gold coins to his employees' children. In 1999, he gave $60 million to the Smithsonian Institution. He made large donations to Bar-Ilan University in Israel, for building "The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center" and the "Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Nanotechnology Triplex".

He died on March 16, 2018, aged 98.