Sinquefields Donate $50 Million To Saint Louis University

ST. LOUIS, MO — Rex Sinquefield, the libertarian founder of the Show-Me Institute, and his wife Jeanne Sinquefield have donated $50 million to Saint Louis University, the largest donation in the school's 200-year history, according to a news release.

“On behalf of the entire Saint Louis University community, I want to thank Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield for their transformational gift and for their unparalleled support of our University,” said SLU President Fred P. Pestello.

“Through their immense generosity, the Sinquefields will provide the gift of knowledge to the world, bring further attention to the region as a research hub, and draw more outstanding scholars and students to St. Louis,” Pestello continued. “For all this and more, we are deeply grateful.”

The gift will fund a new Saint Louis University Research Institute, establish an eponymous Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research and support SLU's chess team, officials said, adding that the university recently marked its most successful fundraising year ever with a record-setting $98.6 million. That's not including the Sinquefields' $50 million contribution.

The new research institute will set the university on a path to become a national and international model in research, university officials said, with the donation allowing the school to recruit and retain new faculty and graduate students. The Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research, which will be housed within the recently-renamed Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, will conduct research grounded in applied economics and establish a guest lecture series.

The donation will also fund scholarships and travel costs for SLU's chess team, which "has quickly become one of the winningest collegiate chess programs in the country," according to the news release.

Chess reportedly enjoys a special place in Rex Sinquefield's heart. He has also funded a city chess club and payed to relocate the World Chess Hall of Fame to St. Louis.

The Sinquefields are known in Missouri for both their philanthropy — with million-dollar contributions to charitable and educational organizations across the state — and their libertarian politics. Rex Sinquefield co-founded the Show-Me Institute, a public policy think tank and advocacy group "dedicated to promoting free markets and individual liberty."

Sinquefield also lobbied for Missouri's recently-defeated "right-to-work" law. He has pushed lawmakers to eliminate the state's income tax in exchange for broader sales taxes and is one funder of the effort to privatize the city's Lambert International Airport.

Photo by Steve Dolan/Saint Louis University