Koret Foundation

Koret Foundation

Joseph Koret, who made his money from the Koret of California apparel brand, established the foundation in 1979. The wealth origin traces to mid-century sportswear manufacturing; Koret himself died in 1982, and the foundation has since operated as a perpetual endowment managed by a board that includes Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Michael J. Boskin and Anita Friedman, executive director of San Francisco's Jewish Family and Children's Services. The foundation's investment posture reaches across venture capital, private equity, distressed debt, mezzanine, and real estate. Its portfolio includes direct commercial real estate holdings such as the foundation's headquarters at 611 Front Street in San Francisco and the Villages at Cupertino retail property. Grantmaking prioritizes the Bay Area community and Jewish people worldwide, with a history of supporting the Koret Center for Jewish Civilization and the Koret Israel Economic Development Funds. Led by co-presidents Boskin and Friedman, the philanthropy does not publicly disclose its team size. The foundation holds commercial real estate assets directly and maintains a relationship with Tad Taube, the former president and Boskin's predecessor, who now runs Taube Philanthropies. The grantmaking arm has funded physical civic infrastructure, including the Koret Playground in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and cultural assets such as a 17th-century Korean white porcelain jar donated to the Asian Art Museum. Unlike many foundations that outsource the CIO function or maintain a large internal staff, Koret's leadership sits at the intersection of academic economics and direct social-services management. Boskin's Hoover Institution perch and Friedman's role at JFCS embed the foundation in both university-level policy circles and on-the-ground community work, creating a governance structure that blends institutional rigour with direct operational knowledge of the populations it funds.