Amy Goldman Fowler is a philanthropist, real estate heiress, and psychologist best known for her gardening and advocacy for heirloom crops and seed preservation. She is a member of the left-of-center donor network Democracy Alliance and sits on the board of a number of philanthropic organizations.¹ She has written four books on heirloom gardening.² She is married to Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which runs Svalbard Global Seed Vault.³ In the 2016 election cycle, she gave about $2.5 million to Democratic campaigns or super PACs.⁴ Since 1998, Goldman Fowler has donated more than $4.8 million to candidates and political organizations at the national level; Planned Parenthood has received particular support from her.⁵

Goldman Fowler recently debuted on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list in 2017. She is estimated to have a fortune of $3 billion “thanks to a real estate empire of at least 400 properties, including a stake in the World Trade Center developments.”⁶

Education and Early Life

Goldman Fowler is the second-youngest daughter of real estate mogul Sol Goldman, who died in 1987.⁷ Once New York City’s biggest landlord, Goldman left his four children his firm Solil Management and its more than 400 properties.⁸ After working at the real estate firm, Goldman Fowler went on to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.⁹ Her mother Lillian Goldman died in 2002.¹⁰

Gardening and Activism

Goldman Fowler is best known for her work preserving heirloom strains of garden vegetables. She planted her first kitchen garden as an 18 year-old.¹¹ She advocates for seed collection and preservation, and sat on the board of Seed Savers Exchange for over a decade, serving as the board chair for half that time. She is now a special adviser to the board of the Exchange.¹²

She has written four books on heirloom gardening: Melons for the Passionate Grower (2002), The Compleat Squash (2004), The Heirloom Tomato (2008), and Heirloom Harvest (2015).¹³ Goldman Fowler is vice chair of the New York Botanical Garden’s board of managers; she was also previously a member of the New York Restoration Project’s board of trustees.¹⁴

Political Philanthropy

Goldman Fowler is a trustee of both the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust and the Amy P. Goldman Foundation.¹⁵ She is an important member of the Democracy Alliance, and hosted a fundraiser for the Alliance headlined by President Obama in her home in 2014.¹⁶ She was an early supporter of the Ready for Hillary PAC, and in the early days of the 2016 Presidential election was the PAC’s biggest donor.¹⁷

Goldman Fowler donated substantially to left-of-center causes throughout 2016.¹⁸ She gave multiple large donations to Planned Parenthood and has been a supporter of the organization and its political priorities for some time. Between 2011 and 2014, she donated five times to Planned Parenthood Votes, for a total of $2,250,000.¹⁹ In 2016 she gave two donations of $1,000,000 each to Planned Parenthood Votes.²⁰ Other recipients of substantial donations in 2016 include the Senate Majority PAC, Women Vote!, and American Bridge 21st Century. She also contributed $250,000 to the Democratic National Convention’s Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee.²¹ She contributed $750,000 to President Obama’s Organizing for Action in 2014.²²

Ballotpedia has labeled Goldman Fowler a “Top Influencer” in New York.²³

Personal Life

Goldman Fowler lives on a 200-acre farm in Rhinebeck, New York, with her husband Dr. Cary Fowler, a former executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which runs the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed bank in Norway.²⁴ The couple married in April of 2012.²⁵ Goldman Fowler credits her husband’s work with prompting some of her own passion for seed preservation and heirloom crops; she read his book Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity in the 1990s.²⁶

1. LittleSis. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://littlesis.org/person/71496/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
2. Amazon. “Amy Goldman Author page.” Accessed January 30, 2017. https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Goldman/e/B001K8HXC4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1485787479&sr=8-1.
3. Hartocollis, Anemona. “Amy Goldman and Cary Fowler.” New York Times. May 11, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/fashion/weddings/amy-goldman-and-cary-fowler-vows.html.
4. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Forbes. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-goldman-fowler/.
5. Ballotpedia. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://ballotpedia.org/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
6. Savchuk, Katia. “Meet the 195 billionaire newcomers of 2017.” Forbes. March 20, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiasavchuk/2017/03/20/billionaire-newcomers-2017-yvon-chouinard-manny-stul-patrick-john-collison/#1ac6349a4f1d
7. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Forbes. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-goldman-fowler/.
8. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Forbes. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-goldman-fowler/.
9. Hartocollis, Anemona. “Amy Goldman and Cary Fowler.” New York Times. May 11, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/fashion/weddings/amy-goldman-and-cary-fowler-vows.html.
10. West, Melanie Grayce. “Family Legacy of Libraries.” Wall Street Journal. February 24, 2013. Accesse January 27, 2017. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324048904578320603006606108.
11. Hellman, Peter. “Most Treasured Heirlooms.” New York Sun. October 31, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.nysun.com/food-drink/most-treasured-heirlooms/65600.
12. Tagtow, Kelly. “Illinois gardener to lead Seed Savers Exchange board.” Seed Savers Exchange Blog. July 25, 2012. Accessed January 30, 2017. http://blog.seedsavers.org/illinois-gardener-to-lead-sse-board/.
13. Amazon. “Amy Goldman Author page.” Accessed January 30, 2017. https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Goldman/e/B001K8HXC4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1485787479&sr=8-1.
14. LittleSis. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://littlesis.org/person/71496/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
15. LittleSis. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://littlesis.org/person/71496/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
16. Markay, Lachlan. “Obama Headlines Fundraiser for Democracy Alliance Group at DA Donor’s Home.” The Washington Free Beacon. July 21, 2014. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://freebeacon.com/politics/obama-headlines-fundraiser-for-democracy-alliance-group-at-da-donors-home/.
17. Duran, Nicole. “Meet the new breed of PACs helping Hillary Clinton.” Washington Examiner. September 21, 2015. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/meet-the-new-breed-of-pacs-helping-hillary-clinton/article/2572506.
18. OpenSecrets.org. “Goldman, Amy: Donor Detail.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/donor_detail.php?cycle=2014&id=U0000004024&type=I&super=N&name=Goldman%2C+Amy.
19. LittleSis. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://littlesis.org/person/71496/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
20. OpenSecrets.org. “Goldman, Amy: Donor Detail.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/donor_detail.php?cycle=2014&id=U0000004024&type=I&super=N&name=Goldman%2C+Amy.
21. Wilson, Megan R. “Democratic host committee raises $85 million.” The Hill. September 27, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2017. http://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/298089-democratic-host-committee-raises-85-million.
22. Ballotpedia. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://ballotpedia.org/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
23. Ballotpedia. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Accessed January 27, 2017. https://ballotpedia.org/Amy_Goldman_Fowler.
24. “Amy Goldman Fowler.” Forbes. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-goldman-fowler/.
25. Hartocollis, Anemona. “Amy Goldman and Cary Fowler.” New York Times. May 11, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/fashion/weddings/amy-goldman-and-cary-fowler-vows.html.
26. Hartocollis, Anemona. “Amy Goldman and Cary Fowler.” New York Times. May 11, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/fashion/weddings/amy-goldman-and-cary-fowler-vows.html.