by Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post
After 14 years at the Kennedy Center, David Rubenstein is retiring as chairman.
The billionaire philanthropist told the board of trustees Monday afternoon that he will remain for one year while the national arts center conducts a search for his successor. Elected in 2010, Rubenstein is only the center’s sixth chair and served longer than anyone except founding chairman Roger Stevens, who presided for 27 years. Rubenstein has personally donated $111 million — the largest individual contributor in the center’s 52-year history — and raised millions more, notably for the Reach, the center’s $250 million expansion completed in 2019.
It’s time to pass the torch. “One, you don’t want to stay too long; it’s very unusual in the nonprofit world to stay this long in a chairmanship role,” he told The Washington Post last week, in advance of his announcement. “Secondly, I am 74 years old, an age which is too young to be president of the United States, but generally considered to be old enough for other things.”
With an estimated net worth of $4 billion, Rubenstein is one of Washington’s most prolific and influential philanthropists. In addition to the Kennedy Center, he has chaired and given millions to the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the National Archives and more.
