$492 Million to Spend

The world's richest private charitable institution opened up its bankbooks for the first time last week and gave the public a quick peek. In its annual report, Detroit's Ford Foundation, set up in 1936 with a $25,000 gift from the late Edsel B. Ford, announced that it now had $492,678,255 in the till. Most of it represents 3,089,908 non-voting shares of Ford Motor Co. stock, given by the Ford family and currently valued at $135 a share. So far, the foundation, which Paul Hoffman heads, has given out $42 million for philanthropic and educational projects (chiefly in Michigan). It has pledged its entire wealth to a peace and democracy campaign, is still drawing up plans to spend the money.

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