PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Warren Alpert, who died Saturday at 86, was a gas station and convenience market tycoon who made headlines in January when he donated $100 million to Brown University, which named its medical school after him, said The New York Sun.
Among Alpert's holdings was the Drake Petroleum Co., one of New England's largest distributors of gasoline and oil, and Xtra Mart Convenience Stores.
Childless and eschewing luxuries other than a home at the Ritz Tower on Park Avenue, Alpert became interested in medical and education [image-nocss] philanthropy in the 1980s and began giving money to his alma maters, Boston University and Harvard University. In 1993, he donated $20 million to Harvard Medical School; at the time, it was the largest gift the school had ever received, the report said.
In 1987, his foundation began handing out an annual Warren Alpert Prize for medical advances. Winners have made discoveries in a wide range of fields, including cancer, AIDS and nutrition.
I really don't want to make my relatives rich, Alpert told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in 1993. I want to do something for society, and I intend to do it. It's me. I made it, and I intend to spend it and do it my way.
After working for Standard Oil of California, Alpert returned to the East Coast and in 1950 began a small gasoline distributorship in Providence, R.I., the report said. The company grew rapidly and soon included port facilities and a string of gas stations. Later additions included a merchandise distributorship, an underground tank testing service and, in the mid-1970s, c-stores.
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