# The Zegar Family Foundation

The Zegar Family 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, New York, United States
- **Founded:** 2007
- **Assets under management:** $219M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** zegarff.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/zegar-family-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Established in 2007 in New York, the Zegar Family Foundation channels wealth created by Charles Zegar, a co-founder of Bloomberg L.P. Alongside co-founder and managing director Merryl Snow Zegar, the foundation structures its giving around a commitment to measurable, tangible impact, a direct reflection of the data-driven culture at the terminal company that generated the underlying wealth. The foundation pursues a buyout-oriented investment strategy, directing capital toward initiatives where its gifts can create significant leverage. While specific portfolio company names are not publicly detailed, this approach implies concentrated, transformative investments rather than broad-based, smaller grants. Geographic deployment remains rooted in New York, though the foundation's mandate extends to global causes where its resources can make a meaningful difference. With an Altss-estimated corpus of $219M, the foundation operates as a lean entity. Since 2010, Charles and Merryl Zegar have been signatories of The Giving Pledge, committing the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. The foundation maintains memberships in Philanthropy New York and the Council on Foundations, placing it within a community of strategic institutional givers. No recent operational events, such as new hires or major grant cycles, could be verified from public sources. Structurally, the foundation's identity is inseparable from the Bloomberg co-founder ecosystem — Charles Zegar, Michael Bloomberg, Thomas Secunda, and Duncan MacMillan — a cohort of technologists who each built distinct philanthropic vehicles. The Zegar foundation operates with a lean, family-led governance model that prioritizes direct oversight over a large institutional staff, distinguishing it from larger, more bureaucratic peers.

## Sectors

- Financial Data and Media

## People

- Charles Zegar — Founder
- Merryl Snow Zegar — Co-Founder and Managing Director

## Questions

### Is the Zegar Family Foundation a signatory of The Giving Pledge?

Yes. Charles and Merryl Snow Zegar signed The Giving Pledge in 2010. This commits the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes during their lifetimes or in their estate plans.

### What is the foundation's investment strategy?

The foundation's strategy is buyout-oriented, implying a preference for concentrated, large-scale gifts that aim to create transformative impact, rather than a widely diversified portfolio of smaller donations. Specific grantees are not disclosed.

## Related profiles

- [The Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/the-liz-claiborne-art-ortenberg-foundation)
- [Town of Arlington Contributory Retirement](https://altss.com/profile/town-of-arlington)

---

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

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/the-zegar-family-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology