$600 million given to worthy causes and accelerating: the next generation of the Zell family is proving that legacy isn’t just what you inherit—it’s what you thoughtfully expand
In the year since mega-philanthropist Sam Zell’s passing, the Zell Family Foundation has entered a new era—one shaped by the steady hand of Helen Zell and increasingly by the thoughtful involvement of Sam’s three children: Kellie, Matthew, and JoAnn.
Now serving as vice presidents of the foundation, the next generation of Zells has quietly begun to leave its imprint on a philanthropic portfolio that has long defined the civic and cultural soul of Chicago.
While their names may not yet appear on gala marquees or institutional donor walls as often as their parents’, those close to the foundation describe the siblings as deeply engaged and highly intentional.
They participate in strategic grant decisions and site visits, weighing investments that reflect their family’s longstanding commitments to education, the arts, Jewish life, and public service, while also exploring new pathways aligned with their own generational lens.
Their influence has coincided with a remarkable surge in philanthropic activity.
In 2023 alone, the foundation disbursed over $133 million in grants—more than five times its recent annual average.
These gifts spanned a wide array of causes, from $24 million to Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School to $2.2 million supporting academic freedom initiatives at the University of Chicago.
The Kellogg School of Management also received a $25 million gift from the Zell Family.
“With Sam’s passing, we lost a visionary entrepreneurial leader and a dedicated champion of our school and students,” Kellogg Dean Francesca Cornelli said.
“The best way to honor Sam’s memory is to continue improving the Zell Fellows Program, which has made and will continue to make the aspirations of some of our incredibly creative students possible.”
The program caters towards MBA candidates interested in start-ups, new ventures or managing existing ones. Fellows are second-year students who demonstrate strong ambition, drive and desire.
The program brings together like-minded entrepreneurs who hope to run their own businesses upon graduation, per the release. Nearly 200 Kellogg students have participated in the program since its launch in 2013, starting 127 ventures and raising more than $705 million in capital.
“They’ve created and grown businesses in wide-ranging fields, from medical devices to global logistics and sustainable agriculture,” Faculty Director of the Zell Fellows Program David Schonthal said in the release. “Sam encouraged us to ‘go for greatness,’ and we will continue to do so.”
Helen Zell said the gift was an investment in helping talented people pursue their dreams.
“The Zell Family Foundation is proud to continue Sam’s legacy of supporting entrepreneurs who have big ideas, the passion to execute and the drive to go for greatness,” she said.
More recently Helen Zell announced a historic $50 million gift to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, the largest in its history.
Together, these contributions have accelerated the foundation’s total charitable giving to an estimated $600 million as of mid-2025, a figure that includes both recent and historic commitments to institutions like the University of Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Reichman University in Israel, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Ounce of Prevention Fund.
Kellie, (pictured above) an educator at heart, brings an eye for programs that elevate teaching and learning outcomes; Matthew, who has a background in business and real estate, often evaluates grants with a focus on long-term sustainability; and JoAnn, the most private of the three, is said to be particularly passionate about cultural preservation and community-building.
Kellie’s husband Scott Peppet serves as president of Chai Trust Company, LLC, the private trust company that serves as the family office.
Equity Group Investments (EGI), a division of Chai Trust Company, LLC, provides investment management services on behalf of Chai Trust. Before joining Chai, Scott was a professor at the University of Colorado Law School for nearly 20 years.
Scott serves on the boards of companies in which Chai Trust and the Zell family have significant interests, including Equity LifeStyle Properties, a leading REIT owner of manufactured housing and recreational vehicle properties, and Equity International, Inc., a private investment firm focused on building real estate businesses in emerging markets.
He was also a director on the board of Anixter International Inc., a leading global provider of communications, security, and wire and cable products, which sold in 2020 for $4.5 billion.
He has also been involved in entrepreneurship-related philanthropic ventures sponsored by the Zell Family Foundation, including the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, the Zell Fellows Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at Reichman University in Israel.
In addition, he writes about family enterprise and generational wealth.
Scott holds a JD degree from Harvard Law School, a master’s in finance from the University of Colorado Boulder – Leeds School of Business, and a BA from Cornell University.
The Zell children’s presence is not loud—but it is unmistakable.
They carry forward their father’s deeply held belief that opportunity should be earned but also enabled, and their mother’s conviction that beauty and meaning are best cultivated when shared.
As they step further into leadership, the next generation of Zell philanthropists is proving that legacy isn’t just what you inherit—it’s what you thoughtfully expand.
Photo: The Kellogg School of Management/Inset: Kellie Zell-Peppet
(Bottom): Mega-philanthropist Zam Zell with Lifestyles Magazine/Meaningful Influence founder Gabriel Erem
