Sue Gross

Sue Gross (born February 1950) is an American philanthropist and businesswoman. She was formerly the president of the William and Sue Gross Foundation, a charitable organisation she co-founded with her then-husband, investor Bill Gross. In 2017, she established the Sue J. Gross Foundation, focusing on healthcare, education, and community-based initiatives. As of [latest date of citation], her net worth was estimated at $1.3 billion.

Early life and education

Sue Gross was born in February 1950 in Phoenix, Arizona. She has two sisters, Sally Warpinski and Sandra Stubban. In 1985, she relocated to Laguna Beach, California, where she has resided since.

Career

Gross has served on several boards, including the Dean’s Cabinet of the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine, the Orange County Teacher of the Year program, and the Irvine Cove Community Board.

Philanthropy

Sue Gross is a known and dedicated philanthropist. Formerly the president of the William and Sue Gross Family Foundation, Sue oversaw and directed the more than $700 million the foundation allocated to causes in healthcare, medical research, and education.

Bill Gross publicly acknowledged Sue Gross’s leadership and contributions to the family foundation in an interview with Bloomberg in 2016, stating, “Sue’s in charge of that [the foundation]. She spends all her time looking for opportunities, a lot of them local. I report to her."

Sue is no longer connected to the foundation, a representative said, and runs another under her own name since 2017.

On January 21, 2005, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, announced a $23.5 million gift from Bill and Sue Gross to endow undergraduate and medical school scholarships, as well as support faculty members in the business school. “Now [Bill] and Sue are investing in the lives of countless students. Continuing to attract excellent students and enlarging the endowment to support our ‘need-blind’ admissions policy are among my highest priorities, and I am profoundly grateful that the Grosses have so generously supported these important goals,” said Duke president Richard H. Brodhead. Their fortune placed the couple among the preeminent philanthropists in Orange County—in 2010, they made a gift of $10 million in seed money to fund a stem cell laboratory at UC Irvine. After seeing a heart-wrenching “60 Minutes” report in 2012, the couple reportedly began writing anonymous $15,000 checks to workers laid off from the Space Shuttle program following NASA's termination of the program.

Bill and Sue Gross’s most significant gift was $40 million to the University of California, Irvine in 2016 to establish a nursing school and assist in the construction of a new building to house it. The contribution, which the university said would help address critical healthcare concerns, was the most significant single gift ever to UCI.

Together, the couple became synonymous with Southern California philanthropy, with Sue leading their eponymous foundation. Hospitals and research wings throughout the state bear the Gross family name, as well as a $10 million Smithsonian Institution stamp-collecting gallery in Washington, DC, where their avid philatelist’s collection is on display.

In 2017, Sue Gross established her own charitable foundation, the Sue J. Gross Foundation.

The first announced donation was a portion of the $36.9 million in proceeds from Sue's sale of Pablo Picasso’s “Le Repos”. She donated $35,000 in October 2018 to the inaugural Chef Masters event on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Family Center in Orange County. She gave $5,000 to the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice’s 46th Annual Awards Gala in May 2019.

Personal life

In 1985, Sue Gross married Bill H. Gross, the billionaire co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO). The couple had one son, Nick Gross, a musician and entrepreneur. She was also stepmother to Bill Gross’s two children from a previous marriage. The couple divorced in 2018.

Gross is known for her interest in fine art. In a 2015 letter to investors, Bill Gross described her as “the artist in the family,” noting that she often recreated famous artworks using an overhead projector and canvas, and humorously quoted her saying, “Why spend $20 million? I can paint that one for $75.” A replica signed “Sue,” styled after a Picasso, was once displayed prominently in their home.

During their divorce proceedings, one point of contention was Pablo Picasso’s 1932 painting Le Repos. According to reports, Sue Gross won the painting in a coin toss. Bill Gross later alleged the original had been replaced with a copy, though court testimony indicated he had told her to “take all the furniture and art you like.” Media reports also noted that he had prior knowledge of the replica. A representative for Sue Gross stated the imitation was clearly distinguishable due to a different frame.

In a separate anecdote, Sue Gross played a practical joke involving Bill Gross’s rare stamp collection. Upon receiving a delivery of the highly valuable 1868 1-cent Z-Grill stamp, she temporarily replaced it with a replica labeled in pesos. After revealing the prank, both stamps were kept in the collection, with Bill Gross reportedly labeling the original with its purchase price and the replica “priceless.”

Sue Gross filed for divorce on November 22, 2016. Court documents submitted in the proceedings alleged a breakdown in the relationship and cited concerns about Bill Gross’s behavior. She later requested a temporary restraining order, citing alleged harassment, and both parties were granted restraining orders at different points during the proceedings.

The divorce settlement awarded Sue Gross approximately $1.3 billion, including a $36 million home in Laguna Beach and half of the couple’s extensive art collection.

Real estate

Sue Gross is a substantial investor in Southern California residential real estate. She owns multiple properties, including two homes in Beverly Hills and five houses, along with an additional lot, in the exclusive Irvine Cove community in Laguna Beach. Several of these properties were acquired as part of her 2018 divorce settlement from Bill Gross. Gross has been involved in real estate investment for over 30 years and is reportedly worth millions of dollars through property transactions.