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Through his philanthropic foundation, alumnus Henry Samueli has given millions to UCLA

Courtesy of SARAH COSTANZA
UCLA alumnus and School of Engineering and Applied Science namesake Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan.

By Melissa Truong

May 18, 2012 2:02 a.m.

Sidhaant Shah

Henry Samueli, the co-founder of Broadcom Corporation, donated $30 million from his fortune to the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, which is now named after him.

After semiconductor giant Broadcom Corporation went public in 1998, co-founder Henry Samueli immediately spent $30 million of his fortune.

This money did not go toward a mansion or a yacht. Rather, it went to UCLA, Samueli’s alma mater, where he spent time as an undergraduate and graduate student, as well as a professor in the electrical engineering department. The money was used to fund the School of Engineering and Applied Science, which is now named after Samueli.

The decision, Samueli said recently, was “automatic.”

That initial donation, as well as an additional $20 million to UC Irvine, was the first philanthropic donation Samueli and his wife Susan made through the Samueli Foundation, which organizes the couple’s philanthropy efforts.

Samueli has a net worth of $1.8 billion as of last March, according to Forbes. Recently, the Samuelis signed the “Giving Pledge,” a growing list of billionaires organized by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, who pledge to give the majority of their wealth to charity.

Over the past 13 years, the Samuelis have donated more than $285 million to various organizations, said Gerald Solomon, executive director for the Samueli Foundation.

Of that, more than $37 million has gone to various places around UCLA, such as the engineering department and Hillel Jewish Students Association.

Solomon said the pledge was simply an opportunity to formalize the Samuelis’ commitment to charity and to possibly inspire others to do the same.

“The Giving Pledge is just a continuation of that pledge to be charitable and make a difference to their community and society,” Solomon said.

Samueli said he signed the pledge because he liked the idea of networking with like-minded individuals who had different passions, but who were all interested in giving back to the community.

His interests lie mainly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. He said he tries to support students working to earn degrees and work in research.

“I owe my entire career to my education,” Samueli said. “Broadcom was founded based on the research I had done as a professor with my graduate students and all the knowledge I had gained.”

Samueli spoke fondly about his collective college experience, reminiscing about the difficulty of getting tickets and cheering for the men’s basketball team right in the middle of the Wooden years.

During his undergraduate career, he enrolled in an electrical circuit course taught by Alan Willson, the Charles P. Reames endowed chair of engineering, who would later become Samueli’s advisor in his undergraduate and graduate studies.

Willson said he remembers making special arrangements so that Samueli could take graduate courses as an undergraduate student.

“It was pretty clear when I met him that he had exceptional capabilities,” Willson said. “Everything just clicked for him, and it was very marvelous.”

After he received his doctorate degree, Samueli worked for defense contractor TRW Inc., before returning to UCLA to teach one of Willson’s graduate courses and advise doctoral candidate Henry Nicholas. Samueli would later go on to found Broadcom with Nicholas, eventually taking a leave of absence from his professorship in 1995 to work on Broadcom.

Samueli said he owes his success to what he calls a perfect storm of events, aside from his education. He said building his company involved working hard, having good timing and sheer luck.

“You don’t go out and try to create a wild and successful company because nobody’s smart enough to figure that out,” he said.

“There’s no magical formula.”

Samueli said he was lucky, simply because he had the right technology when the market was in high demand for it.

To students today, Samueli had some advice: Find a field you’re passionate about, work hard at it and go to graduate school.

“And, if the opportunity presents itself, take the risk and see what happens,” he said.

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Melissa Truong
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