January 29, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
The cable-television executive John Malone plans to endow a family foundation that could eventually be worth well over $1.5-billion.
The chief executive officer of Tele-Communications Inc. in Englewood, Colo., said he has directed in his will that 42 million shares of stock he owns in his company — which are now worth about $1.5-billion — go to the Malone Family Foundation to support education and, perhaps, other causes.
If the foundation were established with that much money today, it would rank among the 20 largest foundations.
Mr. Malone, who has two children, told the Rocky Mountain News that his decision was based partly on his belief that “kids who inherit riches are destroyed by too much wealth.”
Mr. Malone, 56, was not available for comment after the newspaper article was published, but a spokesman at his company confirmed his intention to donate the 42 million shares.
Non-profit leaders in Colorado say they are encouraged by Mr. Malone’s promise because he has not been known as a major philanthropist, although his company has supported Colorado charities. Tele-Communications made about $500,000 in grants to charities in 1995, the most recent year for which data were available.
“Malone is a mystery,” says Mary Hanewall, a fund raiser for Denver Options, a charity that provides services for the disabled. “But with this announcement, he’s emerging.”
