Steven and Alexandra Cohen Top List of Donors to Veterans Causes

Hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and his wife, Alexandra, top the list of donors to veterans causes over the last decade, according to data compiled by The Chronicle, funneling $292 million to the cause in two large gifts.

Including the Cohens, only nine individuals or families have publicized gifts of at least $5 million to help or honor former or current military personnel. Together those donors gave a total of more than $414 million to veterans causes.

The Cohens’ largest gift, $275 million, to create the Cohen Veterans Network, supports a new charity that offers free care to former service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health issues. When the Cohens first announced the gift in April, they said the organization planned to open up to 25 clinics across the country over the next five years. So far, the nonprofit has opened five clinics — two in Texas and one each in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.

The couple also gave $17 million several years ago to the New York University Langone Medical Center to establish the Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mr. Cohen is the father of a Marine who served in Afghanistan. He founded SAC Capital Advisors, a hedge fund that now goes by the name Point72 Asset Management. His net worth stands at about $13 billion, according to Forbes.

The Chronicle examined the 11 largest gifts to veterans’ charities during the past decade.

Mr. Cohen and his wife are followed on the list by the late Hector Guy and Doris Di Stefano, who left $34 million to the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust. The couple’s wealth came primarily from UPS stock left to Ms. Di Stefano by her father, who had been a top executive in the company’s early days.