Irwin Jacobs strives to make lives better | UTSanDiego.com

Irwin Jacobs strives to make lives better | UTSanDiego.com: He and his wife, Joan, graciously accepted the billionaire challenge from Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to pledge at least half of their considerable fortune to philanthropic causes. Well known are the La Jolla couple’s generous pledges to medical care, research, education and the arts. These include $120 million to the San Diego Symphony, a similar amount to UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering, $75 million to a specialty UCSD hospital, $30 million to the Salk Institute of Biological Studies. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked them as the 22nd most generous U.S. donors in 2011, with gifts totaling $64.9 million last year alone.