Clara Wu Tsai

Clara Wu Tsai is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and social justice activist. She is a co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty, the San Diego Seals, and Barclays Center. She is the founder of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, a philanthropic organization; the Social Justice Fund, which focuses on economic mobility and racial justice; the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, which funds health and scientific research; and is a founding partner of REFORM Alliance, a nonprofit focused on prison and parole reform in the United States.

Early life and education

Wu Tsai was born in Lawrence, Kansas to Dr. De Min Wu and Chin-Sha Wu, who were immigrants from Taiwan. Her father was a professor of economics at the University of Kansas and her grandfather, Wu San-lien, was the first elected mayor of Taipei City. Wu Tsai attended Stanford University, receiving both a bachelor of arts degree and a master's degree in international relations in 1988. She later received an MBA from Harvard University in 1993.

Career

Wu Tsai was a senior manager and vice president in the business analysis unit of the finance group at American Express. Wu Tsai also worked for Taobao Hong Kong.

Wu Tsai was a founding partner of REFORM Alliance and sits on the board of directors.

In 2017 Joseph Tsai was awarded an expansion license from the National Lacrosse League for a lacrosse team in San Diego, which they named the San Diego Seals. Wu Tsai is a co-owner of the team.

In January 2019, Wu Tsai and her husband, Joseph Tsai, purchased the Brooklyn Nets and the Nets' arena Barclays Center from Mikhail Prokhorov. In 2019, the New York Liberty were sold to the Tsais and moved the team to the Barclays Center. The Tsais gave the team amenities facilities "equal to their male counterparts," according to the New York Times, and recruited star players like Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart.

Wu Tsai is the executive producer of the films Into the Okavango, a 2018 National Geographic documentary about conservation; Blue Bayou, a 2021 drama; and Unfinished Business, a 2022 documentary about the WNBA.

Boards

Wu Tsai serves on the board of trustees for Stanford University, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and New York Presbyterian Hospital. She serves on the advisory board for the Institute of Protein Design at the University of Washington. She is also on the REFORM Alliance board.

Philanthropy

Wu Tsai and her husband started a foundation, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. Wu Tsai leads and manages the foundation's work in supporting scientific research, economic mobility, social justice, and creativity in the arts. The Stanford University neuroscience institute is named after Wu Tsai.

In 2018, Stanford University announced a gift from the Tsais, in support of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute, as part of a $250 million campaign.

In August 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Wu Tsai and her husband launched the Social Justice Fund in Brooklyn, NY with a $50 million commitment. The fund invests in programs that address the root causes of the borough's racial disparities in education, health, and wealth. Initiatives included BK-XL, a tech accelerator focused on founders in the black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) communities; the EXCELerate Loan Fund, which provides low-interest loans to BIPOC business owners; and Basquiat in Brooklyn Schools, an educational arts program about Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

Wu Tsai and her husband donated to Yale University to create the Wu Tsai Institute, which is set to open in the fall of 2022. The Institute will have three centers: the Center for Neurodevelopment and Plasticity, the Center for Neurocognition and Behavior, and the Center for Neurocomputation and Machine Intelligence.

In March 2021, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation also donated to the University of California San Diego’s 21st Century China Center to expand its data-based research, policy engagement, and education on issues related to U.S.-China relations.

In July 2021, the Tsais pledged $220 million to create the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a consortium of experts and academics from Stanford University, the University of Kansas, the University of Oregon, the University of California, San Diego, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

In July 2021, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation funded a Jean-Michel Basquiat educational arts program developed in partnership between the Brooklyn Nets, the New York City Department of Education and the Fund for Public Schools, with a exhibit hosted in August 2021.

In 2022, the Tsais donated $50 million to the renovation of Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic. The hall reopened in October 2022, with the theater where the Philharmonic performs renamed as the Wu Tsai Theater. As part of the gift, Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic programmed an annual “Wu Tsai Series” featuring performances meant to reach new audiences and celebrate diverse artists.

Awards

In February 2021, Wu Tsai was named "Champion of Justice" by John Jay College for her role in creating and forming REFORM Alliance. The award also recognized her $50 million donation to create the Social Justice Fund for Brooklyn's Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In 2022, Wu Tsai and her husband received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal from the Municipal Art Society. In May 2023, Wu Tsai was honored by the Gordan Parks Foundation.

In February 2024, Wu Tsai was presented with the Dreamer Award during the first-quarter break of a game between the Nets and the Boston Celtics. The award, which honors those who "embody" Martin Luther King Jr.'s "vision of service," was given by King Jr.'s family members Martin Luther King III and Andrea Waters King, via their Realizing the Dream organization.

Personal life

Wu Tsai married businessman Joseph Tsai at Park Avenue Christian Church on October 4, 1996. They have three children.

Wu Tsai has a residence in La Jolla, California.

References