HOUSTON — Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta and his family are making a massive donation to the University of Houston College of Medicine.
The $50 million donation was announced Thursday at the UH Board of Regents meeting.
UH President Renu Khator called it a "game-changing gift."
The school opened in 2020 with a mission to improve health care access in underserved and rural communities with a focus on primary care physicians.
UH said Fertitta's legacy donation will "ignite a new era of innovative and equitable health care in Houston and across Texas."
"Our family has such a passion for this medical school and its pursuit of health equity so everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, zip code or socioeconomic status, has the same opportunity to be as healthy as possible," Fertitta said. "My hope is that the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine will be a game changer for the health and well-being of Texans by improving access to quality heath care, advancing medical knowledge and improving patient care though health and health care research."
The medical school will now be named the “Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.”
"Tilman Fertitta and his family have made a visionary investment, so it is only fitting this new, ambitious and forward-thinking medical school should bear the Fertitta name," Khator said. "It will have a remarkable and lasting impact on Houston and the world."
Fertitta has served as the UH Board of Regents Chairman since 2014.
He is the owner of the Houston Rockets and made his fortune as the CEO of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns several casinos, hotels and restaurants.