Conrad Prebys passed away on July 24, 2016 at the age of 82 after a protracted battle with cancer.
He was prominent real estate developer who began his portfolio in the 1960s with just $500. In time, he would become even more widely renowned as a philanthropist with many causes and interests. Most notably, in 2008 he donated $10 million to establish the Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics at then-Burnham Institute for Medical Research.
Five years after T. Denny Sanford donated $50 million in 2010 to the Institute (with the name changed to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute), Prebys gave $100 million and the name was changed to Sanford Burham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
Both Sanford and Prebys became honorary directors in 2009. Like Sanford, Prebys was a strong advocate for biomedical science and translating the discoveries of basic research into new treatments, drugs and cures.
At the renaming of the Institute, Prebys said, “I’ve been involved with the excellent researchers at the Institute for many, many years. They’re the best there is, and that excites me. If, through my support, I can shorten people’s suffering, or extend their quality of life, that would give me unlimited pleasure and joy.”
Over the years, Prebys would make additional regular gifts to the Institute to support research.
His interests and philanthropic support were expansive. He made significant gifts to UC San Diego, San Diego State University, the San Diego Zoo, Scripps Mercy Hospital, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Old Globe Theatre, the La Jolla Music Society, the Salk Institute and the San Diego Museum of Art. Many buildings, research centers and scholarships in the region bear his name.
He also donated $20 million to his alma mater—the Indiana University Kelley School of Business—to fund construction of a new campus amphitheater and the Kelley School of Business Conrad Prebys Career Services Center in 2015.
In 2012, he was named one of the 25 most generous people in the United States by Business Insider.
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Prebys was raised in a blue collar, ethnic, working class neighborhood where the mindset was to complete high school and then work in the local factories of Studebaker or Bendix. When he was eight years old, he developed a heart condition which doctors said would force him to lead a sedentary life and leave him unable to do manual labor. His parents decided that he should learn to play the piano as a way to make a living as an adult.
The turning point in his life was meeting an inspirational high school drama teacher who exposed him to culture and the arts. The teacher was also influential in encouraging Prebys to further his education. He was the first of five brothers to attend and graduate from Indiana University. He was also the first in his neighborhood to go beyond high school.
Prebys moved to San Diego in 1965 and founded Progress Construction Company to build homes, eventually diversifying to build, own or rent thousands of apartment units. Ultimately, these resources were transferred to his estate’s charitable organization, the Conrad Prebys Foundation, which sold the real estate portfolio to The Blackstone Group for more than $1 billion in 2021. The Prebys Foundation is now among the largest and most active charitable organizations in the San Diego region, with interests in health care, medical research, visual and performing arts, higher education and youth development.
