Raymond G. Perelman, a Wharton alum (W’40) who with his wife, the late Ruth Caplan Perelman (Almanac September 6, 2011) made numerous generous gifts to the University of Pennsylvania and for whom the Perelman School of Medicine is named, died January 14 at his residence in Philadelphia. He was 101.

“We have lost one of Philadelphia’s great citizens,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. “I considered Ray a dear friend—both to me and the University—and I am so gratified to know he will be remembered for the countless lives he has touched through his philanthropy. His impact on the University of Pennsylvania, the Perelman School of Medicine, and our city was nothing short of transformative, and it was an honor to have his partnership. Our hearts go out to the Perelman family during this difficult time.”

“His visionary philanthropy has transformed the Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System and forever touched the lives of our patients, students and faculty,” said J. Larry Jameson, dean of the School and executive vice president for the Penn Health System. “He and his lovely wife, Ruth, were a constant inspiration to the Penn and Philadelphia communities, and his remarkable legacy will endure for generations.”

Mr. Perelman served on PSOM’s Board of Trustees, hosted events in his home in Palm Beach, Florida, and attended numerous campus events, even into his later years. He particularly enjoyed meeting Penn’s incoming medical students. In October 2011, President Gutmann presented Mr. Perelman with the University of Pennsylvania Medal for Distinguished Achievement, one of the University’s highest honors; at that point, the medal had been presented on only 14 occasions in the last two decades. He was also recognized with an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2014 (Almanac February 18, 2014).

“Penn Medicine has lost a wonderful champion with the passing of Raymond Perelman,” said Ralph W. Muller, chief executive officer of the Penn Health System. “His passionate engagement, together with his late wife, Ruth, in the creation of the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine has resulted in a global model for patient-centered, compassionate health care.”

Mr. Perelman was the son of a Lithuanian immigrant who settled in Chester, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Wharton and serving as a flight officer in World War II, Mr. Perelman returned to Philadelphia, invested in factory buildings, and became a partner in the company his father founded, cardboard-tube maker American Paper Products Co., expanding it into the metals business. He served as president and chairman of the board of RGP Holding Inc., a private holding company comprised of a vast array of manufacturing, mining and financial interests. Over the course of his career, Mr. Perelman bought, grew and sold dozens of companies. Mr. Perelman continued to do business into his 90s.

The state-of-the-art outpatient facility, the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, was created thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Perelman’s $25 million gift. It opened in 2008 (Almanac October 7, 2008). The couple made a historic $225 million gift that created a permanent endowment for Penn’s School of Medicine in 2011 (Almanac May 11, 2011), and they established the first endowed professorship devoted to an active, full-time clinician, The Ruth C. and Raymond G. Perelman Professorship in Internal Medicine (Almanac September 27, 2005). 

Beyond Penn, Mr. and Mrs. Perelman made generous gifts to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its adjacent Perelman Building, the Kimmel Center and Perelman Theater, the Perelman Jewish Day School, and many other Jewish cultural and welfare organizations. Both the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Drexel University have honored Mr. Perelman’s extraordinary support by naming areas of their campuses in his honor. 

Many of Mr. Perelman’s children and grandchildren are Penn graduates. His son and University Trustee Ronald O. Perelman (W’64, WG’66), has also been a generous partner of Penn (The Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics (Almanac September 11, 2018), and the Perelman Quadrangle (Almanac April 25, 1995).  

Mr. Perelman is survived by his sons, Jeffrey (W’71, WG’73) (Marsha) and Ronald (W’64, WG’66) (Anna); grandchildren Steven, Joshua, Debra, Hope, Samantha, Caleigh, Oscar, Ike and Alison; and 10 great-grandchildren.