SOURCE OF WEALTH: Goldman Sachs
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Environment, Media
OVERVIEW: Michael and Rita Rantz conduct their philanthropy through the Michael and Paula Rantz Foundation, which, according to available tax filings, awarded just over $840,000 in grants in 2018. The primary region of giving is the Bay Area, where the couple lives and serves on several boards. Education and health are among this funder’s main interests.
BACKGROUND: Michael Rantz holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Rantz joined Goldman Sachs in 1983 and became a partner in 1992. Rantz was responsible for global government bond trading at Goldman Sachs & Co. in London from 1995 to until his retirement in 1999.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Michael Rantz supports his alma maters Cornell and University of Chicago; the latter has received several substantial gifts in the recent past. The couple has also directed money to various Bay Area schools and education outfits like KIPP Bay Area Schools, Phillips Brooks School, The Menlo School, and The Castilleja School. Other grantees have included St. Francis College in Brooklyn, and University of Penn.
HEALTH: Grantees have included Lenox Hill Hospital, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Colon Cancer Foundation, and Bay Area Lyme Foundation. The couple once hosted a benefit dinner for Bay Area Lyme at their home.
ENVIRONMENT: The couple has also supported environmental outfits like Pepperwood Preserve and Volcan Mountain Foundation, which serves the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve.
MEDIA: The Rantz couple has recently supported Foundation for National Progress and Internews Network.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple’s interest areas to hold. What’s less clear is if a large amount of money will start moving out the door in the foreseeable future.
CONTACT:
The Michael and Paula Rantz Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Michael and Paula Rantz Foundation
330 Santa Rita Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
