Paul Ramsay

Born in Sydney, Ramsay grew up in Burradoo in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales.

In 1964, he founded one of the first private psychiatric hospitals in Sydney. It evolved into Ramsay Health Care, a private hospital company of which he was chairman of the board. As of July 2014 it comprised 151 hospitals and day surgery facilities in Australia, Europe and Asia. He was one of the initiators of television aggregation in Australia and built stations across the country, which today form part of the PRIME7 Television Network. Ramsay was chairman of Prime Media Group for almost 30 years until relinquishing this role in April 2014. He sat on the board of directors of Adstream and on the advisory board of the Australian Science Media Centre.

Ramsay attended St Ignatius' College, Riverview. During his lifetime, he donated $2.1million toward the Riverview Bursary Program and various capital works, including the new boathouse and Ramsay Hall, both eponymously named after his brother, the distinguished Jesuit, Fr John X Ramsay SJ.

In 2009, he was appointed chairman of Sydney FC. He also owned luxury real estate. He served on the board of the George Gregan Foundation. He was chairman of Ramsay Youth Services, a charity for young people. He sat on the Board of the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation. In 2002, he became an Officer of the Order of Australia for his philanthropy. In June of the same year, he was on the Queen's Birthday Honours List. In 2011, he donated AUS$300,000 to the Kevin Spacey Foundation.

In 2006 he founded the philanthropic Paul Ramsay Foundation.

Prior to his death, in 2014 his net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$3.4 billion. He was the thirteenth richest person in Australia.

He died single having never married aged 78 on 1 May 2014 in his Bowral home after suffering a heart attack in Spain.

In his will, updated just months before his death, Paul Ramsay left the majority of his estate to the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

Paul Ramsay Foundation

Paul Ramsay's $3 billion bequest made the Paul Ramsay Foundation the largest philanthropic foundation in Australia.

The Foundation's core ambition is states "to help break the cycle of disadvantage". In 2015, the Paul Ramsay Foundation made a $14.7 million donation to the Black Dog Institute for suicide prevention programs. In 2016, the Foundation donated $45.2 million, making it the largest private donor in Australia.

Former University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Glyn Davis AC was appointed CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation in January 2019.