Richard Goldman, San Francisco philanthropist, dies at 90

Richard Goldman, S.F. philanthropist, dies at 90

Carolyne Zinko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, November 29, 2010

(11-29) 10:24 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Richard Goldman, a philanthropist whose annual environmental prize is considered one of the world's top ecological awards, died this morning of natural causes at his home in San Francisco. He was 90.

Mr. Goldman and his wife, Rhoda, dispensed hundreds of millions of dollars in support of a variety of charitable causes in the Bay Area, nationally and internationally through the foundation they started in 1951. In 1989, the couple conceived the Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots environmental activists around the globe.

Each of the winners this year received $150,000, money that comes from an endowment by the Goldman family. The prizes are awarded to "women and men from isolated villages or inner cities who ... take great personal risks to safeguard the environment," according to the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

This year's half-dozen winners included a man who led a campaign to halt the practice of maiming and killing sharks for their fins in Costa Rica, and a woman who exposed the polluting practices of livestock ranches in rural Michigan.


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