SDSO Supporters The Jacobs to receive Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy

The San Diego Union Tribune
By Peter Rowe

At this stage in their lives, Irwin and Joan Jacobs are considering their bequests to their children and grandchildren. Money?

“Our ethos,” replied Irwin Jacobs, 81, co-founder of Qualcomm and — with his wife – one of San Diego’s most generous philanthropists." And, of course, some of the means to carry that out. “But the main thing would be the ethos.”

On Tuesday, it was announced that these world-class givers will receive the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Established in 2001 by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the medal honors people who emulate Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century steel magnate who donated most of his fortune to good causes.

“He said that the man who dies rich, dies disgraced,” said Vartan Gregorian, the corporation’s president. “They lack the imagination to help others.” 

Read the full San Diego Union-Tribune story here.