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Naming Legacies
Sage Hall
Born in 1828, Margaret Olivia Slocum
Sage was 78 when her husband died, leav-
ing her a vast fortune. Over the next 12
years, she became one of the most famous
philanthropists in US history choosing to
give every imaginable charity, cause and
requestor from educational, religious and
medical institutions, cultural preservation
program and animal shelters.
“Mrs Russel Sage” as she liked to be
called met and married her husband in
her early 40’s. She was then a dedicated
teacher and he was a 55-year-old widow
who had built his wealth during the US
industrial boom.
Rumors had it at the time that the couple
was not particularly romantic. Nor were
they a perfect match. She was sympathet-
ic and generous and he was more callous
and stingy. Still the marriage lasted 37
years until Russell’s death in 1906. Left
with a fortune worth between $70 and
$100 million, she was dubbed as the rich-
est woman in the world. With a free reign
to rule over her inherited fortune, Mrs
Sage, established The Russel Sage Foun-
dation for “the improvement of social and
living conditions in the United States of
America.”
Requests came in from overseas as well.
Among them was a request from Dr
George E Post, one of the founders and
the head professor of the medical college
in the Syrian Protestant College (today’s
AUB). SPC was looking to expand its
campus and needed to construct new
buildings. His request was accepted and
Mrs Sage, most probably influenced by
her strict Protestant upbringing, awarded
the SPC $75,000 (some records show
$50,000) to build Sage Hall.The new
building was completed in 1911.
Mrs Sage died seven years later at the age
of 90 leaving a rich legacy behind.
“I think it is a man’s
duty to make all the
money he can, keep all
that he can and give
away all that he can,”
John D. Rockefeller,
1839 – 1937
WINTER
2010
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