Edythe Broad & family

Eli Broad was born on June 6, 1933, in the Bronx, New York City. His parents, Rebecca and Leo Broad, were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. His father worked as a house painter, while his mother was a dressmaker. The family moved to Detroit, Michigan, when Eli was six years old. He attended Detroit Public Schools and graduated from Detroit Central High School in 1951.

Eli Broad attended Michigan State University, where he majored in accounting with a minor in economics. He graduated cum laude in 1954. Broad became the youngest Michigan resident to attain the credentials of Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a record he held until 2010.

After graduating from college, Eli Broad worked as an accountant for two years and taught night classes at the Detroit Institute of Technology. In 1956, he founded his own accounting firm.

In 1957, Eli Broad partnered with Donald Bruce Kaufman to build homes in the Detroit suburbs. The company, Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation (now KB Home), quickly became successful. In 1960, Broad and Kaufman moved the company to Phoenix, Arizona. The company went public in 1961, and Broad moved it to Los Angeles in 1963. Kaufman retired in 1969, and Broad became the CEO. KB Home became the first homebuilder listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969. Broad stepped down as CEO in 1974.

In 1971, Eli Broad acquired Sun Life Insurance Company of America. He transformed Sun Life into the retirement savings powerhouse SunAmerica. SunAmerica went public in 1989, and Broad sold it to the American International Group (AIG) for $17.8 billion in 1998. Broad continued as CEO of SunAmerica until 1999.

Eli Broad and his wife Edythe are well-known philanthropists. They have donated billions of dollars to various causes, including education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.

The Broads have created several foundations, including the Broad Foundations and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. They have also signed onto the Giving Pledge, committing to give at least half of their wealth to charity.

The Broad Foundation's education work aims to expand learning opportunities for students from underserved communities. The foundation has made over $650 million in grants since its launch in 1999. Broad also founded the Broad Center, a nonprofit focused on developing school system leaders, in 2001. From 2002 to 2014, the foundation awarded the Broad Prize for Urban Education to large urban school districts with significant improvements in student achievement. In 2012, the foundation launched the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, awarding $250,000 to the top charter management organization in the country. Both prizes were officially sunsetted in 2019.

Eli Broad has been a major supporter of the arts in Los Angeles. He was the founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, from 1979 to 1984. He also served as a life trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and donated $60 million to the museum in 2003. Broad also donated $6 million to the Los Angeles Opera to bring Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen to Los Angeles. In 2010, he announced the construction of a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, which opened in 2015 and is known as The Broad.

Eli Broad was also involved in the development of Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. He founded the Grand Avenue Committee in 2000 to oversee the development of the area. Broad was instrumental in the fundraising campaign to build the Walt Disney Concert Hall and secured a $50 million deposit from Related Companies that opened Grand Park in 2012.

Eli Broad has also made significant contributions to higher education.

He was the first civic board member and significant investor in education with a $10 million commitment to Pitzer College in 1970. He later became the chairman of the board of Pitzer College in 1973. Broad also endowed the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University (MSU) with $20 million in 1991. He has also given millions of dollars to other universities, including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Eli Broad has also been a major supporter of scientific and medical research. He has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to various research institutions, including the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. Broad has also funded research on firearm violence and loopholes in gun-safety laws.

Eli Broad was a strong advocate for gun control. He funded research on firearm violence and loopholes in gun-safety laws at the Violence Prevention Research Program at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. He also donated money to oppose the recalls of Colorado Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron, who supported gun control measures. Broad served on the advisory committee for gun control group Everytown For Gun Safety when it launched in 2014 and pledged $1 million to the group in 2018.

Eli Broad and his wife Edythe are avid art collectors. They have two collections focusing on postwar and contemporary art—a personal collection with nearly 600 works and the Broad Art Foundation's collection, which has approximately 1,500 works.

About 40% of their collection was bought via dealer Larry Gagosian.

Eli Broad was married to Edythe Broad for over 60 years. They had two children, Jeffrey and Laurie. Broad was also a passionate art collector and commissioned several homes designed by renowned architects, including Frank O. Gehry and Richard Meier. He died on April 30, 2021, at the age of 87.

Eli Broad received numerous honors and awards throughout his lifetime. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Chevalier in the National Order of the Legion of Honor by the Republic of France, and a recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Broad was also a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution and received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007. He was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2016 and received the American Federation of the Arts Cultural Leadership award in 2018. Broad also received honorary degrees from several universities, including the University of Southern California.