Robert A. Belfer

Robert Alexander Belfer
Born	1935 Kraków, Poland
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, benefactor
Known for	Founder of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School; former president and chairman of Belco Petroleum Corporation; philanthropist
Notable work	Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Robert and Renée Belfer Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Belfer Institute for Advanced Biomedical Studies, Belfer Research Building at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Robert Alexander Belfer (b. 1935) is a distinguished American entrepreneur and benefactor, recognized for his association with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.

Early life and education

Son of Arthur Belfer, the founder of Belco Petroleum Corporation—a company that achieved Fortune 500 status—Robert Belfer was born in Kraków, Poland. He completed his undergraduate studies at Columbia College in 1955 and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1958.

Career

Following his graduation from law school, Belfer entered the family business, Belco Petroleum, ascending to the role of president by 1960 and later chairman in 1985. Belco ultimately merged with InterNorth, which later became part of Enron. Although Belfer was a member of Enron’s board of directors, he did not engage in its daily management and stepped down in June 2002. Holding more than 16 million shares, he secured a position on the Forbes 400 list.

Expanding his business interests, Belfer invested in real estate within New York City and co-established Belco Oil & Gas Corp. alongside his son in 1992. The company went public in 1996 through Goldman Sachs, raising upwards of $100 million before being acquired by a Denver-based oil enterprise in 2001.

Philanthropy

Belfer is widely recognized for his philanthropic efforts, including founding the Robert and Renée Belfer Court dedicated to early Greek and prehistoric art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1996. His support extends to the John F. Kennedy School of Government, which honored him by naming the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs after him in 1997. Additionally, he has contributed to the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Israel Museum.

His charitable focus predominantly targets medical research institutions. Belfer has made significant donations to Yeshiva University, where Belfer Hall bears his family’s name, and served as chair of the board of overseers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he established the Belfer Institute for Advanced Biomedical Studies. He was also a board member at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, providing $250 million in funding; its $100 million Belfer Research Building, inaugurated in 2014, is named in his honor. Furthermore, he joined the board of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and contributed $35 million to create the Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science.

Belfer played a foundational role in establishing the Neurodegeneration Consortium at MD Anderson Cancer Center, aimed at advancing Alzheimer’s research, and supported MIT’s Aging Brain Initiative housed within the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. Moreover, he endowed the Robert and Renee Belfer Professorship of International Relations at Columbia University, currently held by political scientist Jack Snyder. His philanthropic reach also includes backing the ADL Center for Technology and Society through funding its Belfer Fellows program, which combats online hate speech and promotes fairness in digital environments.

Personal life

Robert Belfer is married to Renée E. Belfer. They have three children—Shelly, Laurence, and Elizabeth—and are grandparents to five grandchildren.