J. Tomilson Hill to Open Private Foundation in Chelsea

J. Tomilson Hill, a 68-year-old billionaire and vice chairman of Blackstone Group, is launching the Hill Art Foundation in Chelsea, New York. The foundation will open a private gallery on West 24th Street in autumn 2017, showcasing the contemporary and modern art collection he and his wife Janine have amassed, valued at approximately $800 million. Hill, a noted philanthropist who has chaired the Lincoln Center Theater and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and served on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was rumored to have inspired the character Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street. The foundation plans to offer educational programs for New York City students, partnering with existing institutions, as arts education faces budget cuts. Hill cited tax benefits as a motivating factor, a structure less feasible in Italy.