(Sept 22): The family of billionaire Eduardo Saverin, who co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, made a S$20 million (US$15.5 million or RM65.1 million) donation to the Singapore American School, the institution announced.

The donation is the largest gift in the school’s history, superintendent Tom Boasberg wrote in a weekly email sent Friday, saying it would have a “transformative” effect on the institution, which serves pre-kindergarten through high school students.

“The Saverin family gift will support the creation of world-class play spaces, cutting edge STEM labs” and other improvements at a new elementary school, currently under construction, Boasberg wrote. It will also aid a Chinese immersion program and “other strategic priorities,” he said.

The announcement cited Saverin’s wife, Elaine Saverin, as saying she hoped the donation would aid thousands of current and future students at SAS. She said the gift “is a significant and meaningful way for our family to demonstrate our commitment to the school.”

Born to a wealthy Brazilian family, 42-year-old Eduardo Saverin moved to Singapore in 2009 and renounced his US citizenship in 2011, ahead of Facebook’s initial public offering. His wealth, still almost entirely linked to his holdings in the social media company now called Meta Platforms Inc, is estimated at about US$30.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded in 1956, Singapore American School has an expansive campus for about 4,000 students in the city-state’s northern Woodlands neighborhood. The school charges current high school students about S$49,000 per year, not including transport, taxes and other costs.

Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja