Jon Stryker

Jon Lloyd Stryker
Born	circa 1958 Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Architect, philanthropist
Known for	Founder and president of the Arcus Foundation; conservation of great apes; LGBT social justice advocacy
Notable work	Arcus Foundation

Jon Lloyd Stryker (born circa 1958) is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the medical technology empire of the Stryker Corporation. He established and currently leads the Arcus Foundation, which dedicates its efforts to conserving great apes and promoting LGBT social justice, having awarded more than $500 million in grants. The endangered colobine species Rhinopithecus strykeri bears his name. Forbes estimates Stryker's net worth at approximately $5.3 billion.

Early life and education

Stryker was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as the youngest grandchild of Homer Hartman Stryker, the founder of Stryker Corporation. His father, Lee Stryker, tragically passed away in a plane crash in 1976.

He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology at Kalamazoo College in 1982, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees and was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2010. Additionally, he earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

A licensed architect in Michigan, Stryker is president of Depot Landmark LLC, a development company specializing in restoring historic structures.

He also helped establish Greenleaf Trust, a privately held bank based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he serves as a founding board member.

As founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, he oversees an international philanthropic organization dedicated to great ape preservation, LGBT advocacy, and social justice efforts.

In 2024, Stryker was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Philanthropy and activism

Between 2006 and 2012 and again in 2014, Stryker was regularly recognized among the nation’s Top 50 donors by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He was also included on Forbes' list of America’s Top 50 Givers in 2018.

In 2008, Stryker articulated that the Arcus Foundation’s dual focus on great ape conservation and human rights is united by principles of compassion and justice. The foundation prioritizes both environmental preservation and social equity, including expanding protections related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2016, he and his sister Pat each contributed $5 million to the Equal Justice Initiative to support a national memorial commemorating victims of racial lynching in the United States, honoring their late father Lee Stryker.

The following year, he donated $1.275 million to acquire an 11.8-acre parcel on St. John for expanding Virgin Islands National Park.

Stryker is also a benefactor of The New York Community Trust, which allocated $75 million in 2020 to assist New York City’s social service agencies and cultural nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

LGBT causes

Openly gay himself, Stryker is a prominent philanthropist supporting LGBT communities. His Arcus Foundation stands as the leading U.S.-based grantmaker focused exclusively on LGBT issues, distributing over $17 million annually to organizations advancing LGBT social justice as of 2013.

He contributes as a Platinum Council donor—giving more than $50,000 each year—to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which backs openly LGBT candidates for public office. In 2015, Stryker co-led an international project producing a series of LGBT-themed photography books published by The New Press.

In October 2019, he donated $2 million to Spelman College to create the first endowed queer studies chair at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).

Conservation of Great Apes

Stryker plays a significant role in funding worldwide great ape conservation initiatives. In 2013, through the Arcus Foundation, he provided over $10 million to support these efforts.

As a founding board member, he helped establish the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy, a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary spanning 90,000 acres in central Kenya, which was acquired in 2003 with backing from Arcus.

Additionally, Stryker co-founded and serves as chair of the board for Save the Chimps, recognized as the largest chimpanzee refuge globally, located in Fort Pierce, Florida. He financed the acquisition and transformation of a 190-acre former grapefruit orchard into a sanctuary that now offers lifelong care to more than 250 chimpanzees rescued from biomedical research facilities.

Designation of Rhinopithecus strykeri

In recognition of Stryker, the newly identified Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was named Rhinopithecus strykeri in 2010. The Arcus Foundation supported the primatology team responsible for discovering this species during a survey of hoolock gibbon populations in northern Myanmar.

In 2023, Stryker became a member of the Council for Hope within the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation.

Contributions to Hometown and Educational Institutions

Stryker has generously supported conservation and social justice programs in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as well as at his alma maters, Kalamazoo College and the University of California at Berkeley.

University of California, Berkeley

In 2000, Stryker founded the Arcus Endowment at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, which funds initiatives connecting LGBT topics with urban planning and design. A decade later, he contributed an additional $1 million to establish the Arcus Chair in Gender, Sexuality and the Built Environment. In recognition of his impact on social justice, environmental stewardship, and equitable urban development, Stryker received the college’s first Catherine Bauer Wurster Award for Social Practice in 2016.

Kalamazoo College

In 2009, Kalamazoo College received a $200,000 planning grant and a $2.1 million project grant from Stryker's Arcus Foundation to create a center focused on social leadership. The foundation also donated $5 million toward constructing the 10,000-square-foot Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. A $23 million endowment followed in 2012 to fund the center’s ongoing operations—this marked both the college’s largest-ever gift and one of the most substantial donations dedicated to social justice at any undergraduate institution in the United States. Opened in 2014, this center promotes leadership in human rights and social justice through an inclusive design by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects.

Stryker additionally supports Kalamazoo College’s study abroad initiatives and efforts to enhance enrollment diversity. In 2008, he created a $5.6 million fund to provide tuition and support for 50 Posse Scholars from the Los Angeles Unified School District by partnering with the Posse Foundation to offer full scholarships to high-achieving students from underrepresented backgrounds. Earlier, in 2001, he contributed $5 million toward highly regarded study abroad programs.

In 2018, Stryker pledged $20 million to establish a decade-long scholarship program aimed at students of color, first-generation college attendees, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. His cumulative donations to Kalamazoo College surpass $66 million. For his extensive support, Stryker was honored with the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 2010, recognizing outstanding alumni contributions.

Kalamazoo Nature Center

In 2015, Stryker contributed 22 acres adjacent to the west fork of Portage Creek in Kalamazoo, Michigan to the Kalamazoo Nature Center. Additionally, he committed up to $700,000 as part of a 2-to-1 matching grant to aid a phased restoration project and the development of an environmental education facility on the property. To guarantee ongoing public access and land preservation, conservation easements were put in place.

Western Michigan University

In 2021, Stryker and his spouse, Slobodan Randjelovic, provided a $5 million donation designated for scholarships at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine located in Kalamazoo. The Stryker family has played a key role in supporting this medical school, which honors Stryker's grandfather, Dr. Homer Stryker, and had previously funded its L. Lee Stryker Learning Hall.

Art museums

Stryker became a trustee for The Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2017 and served on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from 2018 through 2021.

Political contributions

In August 2006, Stryker established the political action committee Coalition for Progress to back Democratic candidates running for Michigan's Senate and House seats, personally investing $4.7 million. This PAC financed extensive advertising during the 2006 Michigan gubernatorial race, contributing to Jennifer Granholm’s successful re-election against Republican Dick DeVos.

In 2012, Stryker donated $325,000 to Freedom to Marry Minnesota, supporting efforts that defeated a state referendum aimed at banning same-sex marriage. The following year, Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the twelfth state to do so.

Personal life

Stryker wed his longtime partner Slobodan Randjelović in December 2016 and has two children from an earlier marriage.

He lives in New York City and owns a residence in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. Previously, he owned a Mediterranean-style estate in Palm Beach, Florida, designed by architect Marion Sims Wyeth, recognized as a historic landmark. In 2010, he expanded this property by acquiring an adjacent ocean-access lot that included the former home of Jimmy Buffett and Jane Buffett for $18.5 million.

Stryker holds several properties in his hometown of Kalamazoo, where he has actively supported efforts to revitalize commercial spaces. Interestingly, in 2003 he unknowingly purchased a commercial building that once housed his grandfather’s Orthopedic Frame Co., the predecessor of Stryker Corp, before realizing its historical significance.

He also maintains a residence in Garrison, New York, situated along the Hudson River. In 2013, he bought a 129-acre tract there and placed it under a conservation easement to prevent future development. The parking facilities and trail system on this property—including river access—are managed by the Open Space Institute and are open to public use except for a 21-acre residential portion.

For a brief period, Stryker owned an apartment at the Time Warner Center in New York City’s Columbus Circle, which he sold in 2007.

Awards and honors

• 2008 – Creating Change Award presented by the National LGBTQ Task Force
• 2012 – Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan Award from Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center
• 2014 – Global Vision Award granted by Immigration Equality, an organization dedicated to supporting LGBT and HIV-positive asylum seekers as well as binational couples
• 2015 – Visionary Award bestowed by the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network
• 2017 – Patron of Nature recognition awarded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature