# Persepolis Foundation

Persepolis Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in New York, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** New York, NY, United States
- **Founded:** 1999
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/company/persepolis-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Persepolis Foundation was established in 1999 by Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, Executive Chairman of Norwegian energy company DNO ASA, and Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, a longtime senior partner who serves as Chief Investment Officer of Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. The couple's wealth originates from Mr. Mossavar-Rahmani's career in oil and gas executive leadership and Ms. Mossavar-Rahmani's prominent role in institutional asset management. The foundation's investment posture focuses on private capital strategies, including buyout, direct secondaries, and mezzanine commitments. Publicly traceable positions include stakes in the GS Vintage Employee Fund Offshore and GS Mezzanine Partners 2006 PCP (per public filings). The real property portfolio includes significant residential holdings on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, reflecting a parallel allocation to trophy residential real estate. The foundation operates without a public-facing website or broad disclosure of team size, making its precise deployment and staffing opaque. Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani maintains deep ties to cultural and academic institutions, serving as a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he chairs the Visiting Committee on Islamic Art, and sitting on advisory bodies for Harvard University and Princeton University. The foundation itself provides grants primarily to an art museum and higher education initiatives, including the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. Architecturally, the Persepolis Foundation functions as a quiet aggregator of the family's charitable and investment activity rather than a commercial investment platform. Its structural differentiator lies in combining significant Goldman Sachs-aligned fund commitments — reflecting Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani's professional proximity to the firm's alternative investment ecosystem — with focused philanthropy on Near Eastern art and Persian studies, a mandate that mirrors the founders' Iranian heritage and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani's long tenure in the Middle East energy sector.

## Sectors

- Buyout
- Direct Secondaries
- Mezzanine
- Private Credit
- Real Estate
- Art & Culture
- Education

## People

- Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani — Founder
- Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani — Founder

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Persepolis Foundation?

The foundation is run by its founders, Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani and Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani. Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani is the Executive Chairman of DNO ASA, a Norwegian oil and gas operator. Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani is Chief Investment Officer of Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs and a senior partner at the firm, giving the couple deep institutional investment expertise.

### Does the Persepolis Foundation manage its investments internally or rely on external managers?

Based on available information, the foundation makes commitments to external private capital funds, including Goldman Sachs-managed vehicles like the GS Vintage Employee Fund Offshore and GS Mezzanine Partners 2006 PCP. The foundation does not appear to operate as a direct investment platform, instead functioning as a vehicle for fund commitments and philanthropic grantmaking.

### What is the foundation's relationship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani serves as a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and chairs the museum's Visiting Committee on Islamic Art. The Persepolis Foundation provides grants to the museum, and the couple are recognized as significant supporters of the Met's Islamic Art department, reflecting a sustained commitment to this cultural institution.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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