David Geffen has donated $100 million to create a scholarship fund for medical students at UCLA, the university said Thursday.
The donation, on the heels of a $200 million donation in 2002, makes the music and media mogul the largest individual donor to UCLA and to any single UC campus.
Geffen was motivated to give the money to offset the debt racked up by many medical students. Roughly 86 percent of medical school students graduate with $170,000 in debt, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
UCLA's medical school already carries Geffen's name thanks to his 2002 donation.
"The cost of a world-class medical education should not deter our future innovators, doctors and scientists from the path they hope to pursue," he said in a statement. "We need the students at this world-class institution to be driven by determination and the desire to do their best work and not by the fear of crushing debt. I hope in doing this that others will be inspired to do the same."
Geffen's philanthropy made headlines recently after he joined with his former DreamWorks partners Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to give $30 million each to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
The $100 million merit scholarships will provide four years of financial support — covering 100 percent of tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses — for up to 33 students. That represents 20 percent of the available spots in the school.
Geffen became a billionaire thanks to his unerring talent for spotting and promoting talent. He created both Geffen Records and Asylum Records, the homes to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith and Sonic Youth.
But he did not just remain a music titan. Geffen produced films like "Interview With the Vampire" and "Risky Business," before joining with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg to launch DreamWorks SKG in 1994.
His career and life story were examined recently in PBS' "American Masters" program, with the documentary "Inventing David Geffen."
