SOURCE OF WEALTH: Rapper, Music Producer
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, TBD
OVERVIEW: Dr. Dre’s emerging philanthropy has so far focused on education and youth in Southern California, where he has made a big grant to USC, and more recently, to bolster performing arts in his native Compton.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1965 in Compton, California, Dr. Dre started working as a DJ in his teens. His first major success came with the rap group N.W.A. and he later co-founded Death Row Records in 1991. His first solo album, The Chronic, became a huge hit. Dre started Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, signing the likes of Eminem and 50 Cent. He went on to co-found Beats Electronics with Jimmy Iovine, which sold to Apple for $3 billion in 2014.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: In 2013, Dre and his longtime business partner Jimmy Iovine donated a $70 million endowment to the University of Southern California to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. Its “undergraduate degree program focuses on nurturing and developing original thought, leading to breakthrough products, systems, technologies and more.” More recently, in 2017, Dre pledged to donate $10 million to help build a performing arts complex at the new Compton High School, providing “students with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, including digital media production facilities and a 1,200-seat theater.”
OTHER: Dre has reportedly been involved with charities like Global Fund, Michael J. Fox Foundation, and (RED).
LOOKING FORWARD: Dr. Dre has amassed a great deal of wealth, some of which may yet be put towards philanthropy. His native Compton is certainly a place to keep an eye on. Dre is only in his 50s, and grant seekers should watch him carefully in the coming years.
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