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The Duke Endowment

The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. It supports selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and spiritual life in North Carolina and South Carolina.[2]

Formation

1924 (1924)

Rhett N. Mabry

$176,470,598[1]

$150,197,658[1]

The foundation provided funding to build, expand and upgrade hospitals across the Carolinas in the early 20th century, focusing in particular on hospitals serving rural and Black residents. A 2024 study in the American Economic Review found that this funding significantly improved the medical sector, improved physician quality and fostered medical innovation, in addition to reducing infant mortality and long-run mortality.[3]

The Duke Endowment