The day he sold his food company for $2.6 billion, Paul Merage wanted to share his excitement with a friend. "I want to give back to America," Merage told Marshall Kaplan, the former dean of the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado.
That was in October 2002. Three months later, Merage, whose company Chef America was best known for the Hot Pockets calzone-style frozen sandwiches, moved from Denver to Newport Beach and began giving away his money.
Wednesday, UC Irvine announced that Merage, a 61-year-old Iranian immigrant, would give the Graduate School of Management $30 million -- the largest donation ever given to the university -- and that the school would be renamed the Paul Merage School of Business.
For all his business acumen, Merage until Wednesday may have been better known in Orange County for his role in local culture and philanthropy. He is a board member and a leading donor for the Pacific Symphony. He sits on the board of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. He donated $3 million to the Jewish Community Center of Orange County, which bears the names of his mother and father.
He also has established four foundations and brought Kaplan from Colorado to run them.
One foundation has distributed 1,200 DVDs about immigrant success stories to high schools across the country and provides $20,000 stipends to graduating college students so they can pursue their American dream.
Another enlists retirees in Orange County to teach underprivileged preschool children and tries to persuade affluent retirees to donate their Social Security income to help them.
The Merage Foundation for U.S.-Israel Trade brings Israeli MBA students and executives to the United States for two- and three-week seminars in how to market to Americans.
In addition, Merage and his wife, Lilly, are paying for 15 poor children from the Orange County High School for the Performing Arts to attend an intensive summer course in filmmaking at Chapman University.
"I used to tell students he is a role model for what a business CEO should be, and if they have a cynicism based on what they're hearing about the Enrons and the Tycos, Paul Merage is the perfect antidote," Kaplan said. "He's a man of impeccable integrity."
Merage's rabbi is not surprised by the businessman's altruism.
