John Grayken

Founder

Lone Star Funds

Dublin, IE

Biography

John Grayken is the founder of Lone Star Funds, a global private equity firm that invests in real estate, equity, credit, corporate, and other financial assets. Since the establishment of its first fund in 1995, Lone Star has organized 20 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totaling over $85 billion. Lone Star invests on behalf of its fund limited partners, who include pension funds for public sector and corporate employees and retirees, as well as foundations and endowments that support medical research, higher education, and other philanthropic causes.

John also focuses on philanthropy, including supporting education, medicine, hospitals and programs for addiction treatment.

John holds a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School.

John Grayken’s Newsfeed

Words Matter: Boston Medical Center Changes How We Talk and Think About Addiction

In 2017, the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center was founded, dedicated to supporting the needs of those with substance use disorder. One of the first acts of the Grayken Center was to create a pledge that asked all hospital faculty and staff to commit to changing the way they spoke about addiction.

Record $10 million gift to aid South Shore Health System in treating addiction, mental health

Marking the largest private gift in the hospital’s nearly 100-year history, South Shore Health System today received a $10 million donation that will help it fight the public health crises surrounding substance abuse and mental health. The donation will allow South Shore Health System, the parent organization that operates South Shore Hospital, to launch the Grayken Center for Treatment, named after benefactors John Grayken, a Cohasset native, and his wife, Eilene Davidson Grayken. The couple in 2017 made a $25 million donation to Boston Medical Center for the same purpose.

Lone Star Funds

Founder

1995 - Present

Established in 1995, Lone Star has become a leading private equity firm that invests in real estate, equity, credit, corporate, and other financial assets. The firm has organized 20 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totalling approximately $85 billion.

Other Business Interests

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Donor

Philadelphia, PA, USA

John's gift in 2017 to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania established the Grayken Program in International Real Estate, a major asset to the School’s Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center and the Real Estate Department. The Grayken Program funds academic programming for students; industry events and outreach; and faculty research.

Philanthropy

Boston Medical Centre (BMC)

Donor

Boston, MA, USA

John and Eilene Grayken donated $25 million to create the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center. The Grayken Center for Addiction is scaling successful programs locally and nationally, and expanding access to treatment and recovery. The Center serves as the umbrella for all of BMC's work in addiction and is a national resource for revolutionizing addiction treatment.

South Shore Health

Donor

Quincy, MA, USA

In 2019, John and his wife Eilene donated $10 million to the South Shore Health System to launch the Grayken Center for Treatment, a collection of substance use disorder and behavioral health services and initiatives. The center also supports women who are planning to get pregnant, are pregnant, or are post-partum with their behavioral health and substance use disorder needs.

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Publications

Boston Medical Center Receives $25 Million Gift for Addiction Treatment

Donor

Mar 2017

Boston, NY, USA

The Boston Medical Center said Monday that it has received its largest-ever gift, a $25 million donation to fight addiction and the deadly opioid epidemic that the hospital called “the most pressing public health crisis of our time.” The gift, from billionaire investor John Grayken and wife, Eilene, will fund a new center focused on research, treatment, and prevention.

New program to expand the scope of Wharton's real estate department

Donor

Apr 2017

Philadelphia, PA, USA

“I’ve been impressed by the Zell/Lurie Center’s faculty and programs, including their annual London event, which brings together real estate industry leaders from around the world,” John Grayken said in the press release. “It’s a pleasure to help Joe Gyourko and his team build on these successes and expand Wharton’s global activities in the field.”