Billionaire donates $50M to advance cardiovascular care at Northwestern
Neil G. Bluhm, a billionaire philanthropist with deep ties to Chicago, has donated an additional $50 million to a heart hospital that already bears his name, the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute (BCVI).
Bluhm has now donated a total of $135 million to the BCVI since his initial gift in 2005. The institute now includes a total of 18 locations throughout the greater Chicago area and has gone from treating 1,000 heart patients in its first year to seeing more than 48,000 patients in 2025. It also holds a patient satisfaction rate of 96% and consistently makes the influential hospital rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.
“My main goal has always been to ensure that anyone who needs world-class heart care can get it,” Bluhm said in a statement. “We made this possible 20 years ago in downtown Chicago and built on that when we expanded care into the suburbs. It has been one of my greatest honors to watch this program touch so many lives and I’m humbled to continue supporting this mission.”
“As we conclude the celebration of BCVI’s first 20 years, this extraordinary gift ensures we are not only honoring our past, but shaping the next 20 years of cardiovascular care,” added Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, the institute’s executive director. “This commitment keeps Northwestern Medicine at the forefront of cardiovascular medicine, empowering us to deliver superior outcomes for patients today and into the future.”
Bluhm was born in Chicago and attended Northwestern before rising to prominence as a lawyer. He then found success in the real estate and casino businesses. Bluhm and his family are also minority owners of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.