# Larry L. Hillblom Foundation

Larry L. Hillblom Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Sonoma, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Sonoma, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Petaluma, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 1996
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** llhf.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/larry-l-hillblom-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation was created in 1996 from the estate of Larry Lee Hillblom, who co-founded DHL Worldwide Express in 1969 and disappeared in a 1995 plane crash near Saipan. His will directed the bulk of his fortune — estimated at over $500 million — to fund medical research in California. The probate process, however, became a protracted global legal fight after several women from Southeast Asia came forward claiming Hillblom had fathered their children, each entitled to a share under California law. The foundation ultimately received a smaller portion of the estate than originally bequeathed, but the settlement still created a substantial philanthropic endowment. LLHF operates as a California non-profit public benefit corporation that makes grants, not direct investments. It does not deploy capital into venture funds, private equity, or direct company stakes. Its grantmaking focuses exclusively on University of California medical research programs studying diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and chronic diseases of aging — particularly disorders of the brain and vision. The foundation has funded work at UCSF, UC Davis, UC San Diego, and UCLA, backing both basic science labs and translational research aimed at moving discoveries into clinical application. Its endowment assets are managed as a diversified institutional portfolio invested in limited partnerships. Joseph W. Waechter, a former CEO of DHL, serves as chairman and president, providing continuity from Hillblom's corporate legacy. Peter Donnici, Hillblom's personal attorney and the executor of his estate, serves as chairman emeritus and remains a guiding presence. The foundation maintains a lean operating structure with offices in Petaluma and a satellite location in Kingsburg, California. It participates in the Council on Foundations network, engaging in the Leading Locally conference series alongside other place-based grantmakers. The foundation's structural distinctiveness lies in its origin. Very few American foundations are born from a contested-estate drama that played out across multiple continents and federal courts. That history — combined with a narrow, disease-specific mandate tied to a single state's public university system — makes LLHF an unusual allocator: it is simultaneously a memorial to an enigmatic logistics billionaire and a tightly constrained research-funding vehicle with no programmatic ambition beyond its founding charter.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services

## People

- Joseph W. Waechter — Chairman and President
- Peter J. Donnici — Chairman Emeritus

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation?

The foundation's board of directors, led by Chairman and President Joseph W. Waechter, oversees the endowment. Waechter was formerly the CEO of DHL Worldwide Express and worked directly with Hillblom. The foundation does not disclose its investment committee composition or external manager relationships publicly.

### How did the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation get its endowment?

Larry Hillblom, co-founder of DHL, disappeared in a 1995 plane crash off the coast of Saipan. His will left the majority of his estate to a medical research foundation he intended to create at the University of California. A series of paternity claims from women in the Philippines, Vietnam, and other countries reduced the foundation's share through settlement, but the remaining estate still amounted to several hundred million dollars.

### Does LLHF invest in startups, venture funds, or private equity?

No. The foundation is a grantmaking entity, not a venture investor. It does not take equity positions in companies or commit to venture capital funds. Its deployment activity consists entirely of research grants awarded to investigators at University of California campuses.

### Which diseases does the foundation specifically target?

The foundation's charter limits its funding to research on diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and chronic and degenerative diseases associated with aging. Within aging research, it prioritizes brain disorders — including Alzheimer's and related dementias — and vision disorders such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

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Last updated: 2026-07-08T22:09:40.360Z

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