https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-met-obama-foundation-donors-20180116-story.html
WASHINGTON — Hollywood is opening its wallet for the Obama Foundation, which Tuesday reported 31 new donors who have contributed $1 million or more to the former president’s future center in Chicago.
Donors in the million-dollar-or-more circle include a foundation tied to Shonda Rhimes, who grew up in suburban Chicago and created TV hits such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.” A foundation affiliated with Philip Rosenthal, creator of television’s “Everybody Loves Raymond,” also has given at least $1 million.
And the Lucas Family Foundation started by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas gave an unspecified new gift, after the organization already had given the Obama Foundation at least $1 million as of last April. Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson, is a Chicago native and president of Ariel Investments. It was founded by John Rogers Jr., who sits on the Obama Foundation board.
Other recent donors to give at least a million: the Chicago-based Exelon Corporation; the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the Microsoft Corporation. Others to give at least $1 million include the Ford Foundation; The Steans Family Foundation, which focuses on Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood; and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
The latest list represents donors who made new cash contributions during the last three months of 2017 and made written commitments last year after Obama left office, the foundation said. The money will help pay for Barack Obama’s presidential center in Jackson Park, which is set to break ground this year and open in 2021. ..