Local billionaire donates $50 million to Salvation Army

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — San Diego Billionaire Ernest Rady has done it again. This time, a $50 million donation to the Salvation Army’s homeless programs.

“I wish I could take it with me, but this way I can help people long after I’m gone,” said 80-year-old Ernest Rady.

The $50 million gift is the latest treasure chest donated by Rady and his family. They built Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. They also created “The Rady Genome Institute” and the “Rady School of Business.”

“Historical, this is the third largest donation in the history of the Salvation Army,” said Major George Baker, Divisional Commander.

Like most people in San Diego, the Rady’s were watching as the homeless crisis, became a health crisis. Hepatitis A killed more than dozen people and hundreds got sick.

“Government moves real slow. It took a health crisis and the business community to make this happen,” said San Diego Councilmember Scott Sherman.

Most of the money will be used to tear down the existing apartments, then rebuild bigger and better ones. The new name “The Door of Hope/Rady Residence,” in Linda Vista. Following that, the “Rady Center” downtown San Diego.

While $50 million is a lot of money, a really big number, this project needs a little more. Total cost is $80 million, the remaining $30 million will be raised in various ways.

According to Mister Rady, “I have only one request. I’d like to see this happen before I go, so get busy.”

The Rady Residence should be complete in 2020, the downtown facility around 2022.