Oscar Tang
Encyclopedia
Oscar L. Tang is a Chinese
-born American
financier
who is notable as a philanthropist
for education
and art
. He donated millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, Skidmore College
, and the Gordon Parks Foundation
, In 2008, he gave $25 million to Phillips Academy
in what was the school's largest ever single contribution. Tang resides in New York City
.
in Andover
as a tenth grader and graduated in 1956. His future wife, Frances Young, attended Andover's sister school, Abbot Academy, and she went on to Skidmore College
. Tang was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
at Yale University
and received a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1960, Tang married Frances Young. Tang received an M.B.A degree from Harvard Business School
. His wife graduated from Skidmore in 1961.
. After the Tiananmen Square Massacre
in 1989, Tang worked with other high-level Chinese-Americans, including Yo-yo Ma
and I.M. Pei, to "encourage rapport and understanding between two countries." His wife Frances Young Tang was a philanthropist who specialized in landmark preservation. In 1992, she passed away at the age of 53 from cancer. His daughter Dana Tang married Andrew Haid Darrell in 1998.
Board of Trustees, he was a charter trustee since 1995 and a major school volunteer for over two decades. He was instrumental in preserving the buildings and campus of the former Abbot Academy, which merged with Phillips Academy, when there had been discussion about razing the no-longer-used structures; Tang's philanthropy gave funds for preservation of these buildings.
in New York. He gave $14 million in 1997 to enable the museum to purchase rare and valuable Chinese paintings. His gift included 11 major paintings from the C.C. Wang collection and additional funding toward Chinese art galleries.
in 2000. In addition to being a trustee at Skidmore, he is also a trustee of the China Institute in America
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
who is notable as a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
for education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. He donated millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
, and the Gordon Parks Foundation
Gordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
, In 2008, he gave $25 million to Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in what was the school's largest ever single contribution. Tang resides in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early years
Tang was born in Shanghai, China, and his family fled from the country when the Communist revolution took over in 1949. He enrolled at Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
as a tenth grader and graduated in 1956. His future wife, Frances Young, attended Andover's sister school, Abbot Academy, and she went on to Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
. Tang was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and received a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1960, Tang married Frances Young. Tang received an M.B.A degree from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. His wife graduated from Skidmore in 1961.
Business career and family
In 1970, Tang founded an investment firm known as Reich and Tang in New York City. He headed the firm until 1993. The firm was highly profitable. It is now part of the investment bank NatixisNatixis
Natixis is a French corporate and investment bank created in November 2006 from the merger of the asset management and investment banking operations of Natexis Banque Populaire and IXIS ....
. After the Tiananmen Square Massacre
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
in 1989, Tang worked with other high-level Chinese-Americans, including Yo-yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
and I.M. Pei, to "encourage rapport and understanding between two countries." His wife Frances Young Tang was a philanthropist who specialized in landmark preservation. In 1992, she passed away at the age of 53 from cancer. His daughter Dana Tang married Andrew Haid Darrell in 1998.
Phillips Academy
In 2008, he gave $25 million to Phillips Academy. It was the largest single donation in the school's 230-year history. The gift was used to support "need-blind admission" allowing smart students from less affluent families to attend the elite boarding school, according to headmaster Barbara Landis Chase. In total, Tang had contributed $41 million to Phillips Academy, helping boost the school's endowment over $800 million. Before being instated as the President of the Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
Board of Trustees, he was a charter trustee since 1995 and a major school volunteer for over two decades. He was instrumental in preserving the buildings and campus of the former Abbot Academy, which merged with Phillips Academy, when there had been discussion about razing the no-longer-used structures; Tang's philanthropy gave funds for preservation of these buildings.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tang is a member of the board of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York. He gave $14 million in 1997 to enable the museum to purchase rare and valuable Chinese paintings. His gift included 11 major paintings from the C.C. Wang collection and additional funding toward Chinese art galleries.
Skidmore College
Tang gave $10.2 million for the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore CollegeSkidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
in 2000. In addition to being a trustee at Skidmore, he is also a trustee of the China Institute in America
China Institute in America
The China Institute in America is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution in New York City, that was founded in 1926.-Purpose:China Institute in America, located at 125 East 65th Street, New York City, advances a deeper understanding of China through programs in education, culture,...
.