$50 million new gift toward continuity: second-generation philanthropist Chagit Leviev Sofiev expands a family legacy through supporting education
Second-generation philanthropist Chagit Leviev Sofiev is the driving force behind a new $50 million education initiative emerging from a family that journeyed from Soviet-era hardship to global business success and communal leadership.
The daughter of Lev Leviev, who built his fortune and reputation after leaving the tightly controlled environment of the former Soviet Union, she represents a new chapter in a family story often described as a rise from modest beginnings to significant influence in both commerce and philanthropy.
She has announced a $50 million education initiative through the Leviev Foundation to expand access to religious schooling over the next five years, with a primary focus on families who cannot afford tuition.
The funds are being directed mainly toward scholarships and grants for children currently enrolled in public schools whose parents wish to transfer them to faith-based schools but face financial barriers.
Making the announcement, Leviev Sofiev said that “Jewish identity should never be a luxury,” presenting the funding as a response to rising education costs and the pressure this places on middle- and lower-income households.
She also recounted an encounter with a boy in public school who told her, “Don’t worry, no one in my school knows I am Jewish,” a comment she cited as evidence that some children feel they must conceal their background in certain environments.
Together, these remarks framed the program as a way to give parents practical options so that their children can learn in schools where their identity need not be hidden.
Families will be able to apply for assistance through an online portal by providing information on family size, number of children, current and preferred schools, and expected start dates, along with financial documents.
The process allows for optional letters from rabbis or community leaders, and decisions are typically returned within two to three weeks, making the program a time-sensitive intervention for upcoming school years.
The initiative is part of a longstanding strategy that uses education as a central tool to preserve identity and continuity, especially in communities with large immigrant populations.
In cooperation with partners in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, related networks have already directed a significant share of their budgets to schooling and have supported the establishment and operation of numerous educational institutions.
Within that framework, the new $50 million commitment functions as a scale-up focused on tuition relief for families currently priced out of religious schools.
Leviev Sofiev often links this work to her family’s own trajectory.
Her father, businessman and philanthropist Lev Leviev, was born in the Soviet Union within the Bukharian Jewish community, where religious practice and communal life were tightly restricted.
The family later left and expanded their activities internationally, an experience that exposed them to both the fragility and the rebuilding of communal and educational structures.
That history led Leviev to become a central backer of educational networks in the former Soviet Union, where a substantial portion of communal budgets has been dedicated to schools and teachers, with the aim of restoring traditions that earlier generations could not openly maintain.
Chagit Leviev Sofiev grew up amid those projects, observing how her father treated schools as basic infrastructure rather than optional add-ons.
As an adult, she has served as president and CEO of Leviev Group USA and as a leader in Bukharian communal organizations, where she has repeatedly argued that structured schooling is a key factor in maintaining identity for the next generation.
Supporters say the current initiative reflects that outlook: it is designed to extend the kind of pathway her family followed—from environments where identity was constrained toward settings where it can be expressed more openly—to thousands of families who today are constrained primarily by cost.
The launch of the program comes amid broader concern in many communities about the affordability of faith-based education, particularly in cities with high costs of living, such as New York.
Families who would prefer religious schools often face tuition bills that rival university costs, making public school the default option despite concerns about assimilation, safety, or lack of religious content.
By targeting children currently in public schools and offering a defined application route with relatively quick decisions, the Leviev Foundation is presenting the initiative as a direct response to that affordability gap.
Leviev Sofiev is not only an executive but also a mother of five, which her supporters say informs the program’s practical focus on tuition and enrollment rather than on abstract advocacy alone.
She has emphasized women’s leadership and framed education as the most reliable means of transmitting values, history, and communal responsibility.
The new initiative turns that message into concrete policy by making it easier for parents to enroll their children in schools that align with their beliefs and sense of belonging.
Observers note that any large-scale education program linked to a prominent business family will face scrutiny on governance and impact.
The foundation’s timelines, documentation requirements, and focus on clear eligibility criteria are intended to address some of those concerns by providing a visible structure for how the funds will be distributed.
As applications begin to come in, the initiative’s effectiveness will likely be measured by concrete outcomes: the number of children moved from public to religious schools, the amount of tuition relief provided, and feedback from families on whether the support made a decisive difference.
For now, the announcement marks a significant expansion of the Leviev family’s longstanding involvement in education, with Leviev Sofiev at the forefront of its implementation.
Rooted in her family’s journey from constrained beginnings in the Soviet Union to active institution-building on several continents, the $50 million new program is presented as both a continuation of an existing mission and a new phase shaped by her leadership.