NEW YORK, NY – The last will and testament of one of Buffalo’s leading figures in business and philanthropy has now been made public, some seven months after his passing.
Because he was such a central part of Western New York, and due to his affinity for Buffalo during his 35 years at the helm of M&T Bank, many presumed Robert G. Wilmers was a resident of the region.
However, though he had residences in many places (including an apartment in Buffalo) Wilmers was domiciled in New York City.
Wilmers died on December 16, 2017 in his co-op apartment on an upper floor of a building in Manhattan which overlooks Central Park.
According to a probate petition filed in New York County Surrogate Court, the banker who often bicycled when he wasn't driving an older Toyota Corolla, left an estate of approximately $750 million dollars.
It included a palatial country home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a chalet in the high society village of Gstaad, Switzerland, an apartment in one of the most exclusive sections of Paris, and a chateaux and winery in the Bordeaux region of France…as well as hundreds millions of dollars worth of M&T stock and other business holdings.
According to a will made out in November 2015, just a little over two years before he passed, Wilmers left the vast majority of his wealth to his family.
He also left a half million dollars to his first wife from whom he separated more than two decades ago "with the request and hope that this legacy be used to help defray her medical expenses."
Wilmers also bequeathed select works of art, including a Degas bronze statue and a painting by Henri Le Sindar, to friends.
The will also stipulate that a residual remainder of his estate, in amounts presumably still to be determined, be given in equal shares to two, private charitable trusts: The Interlaken Foundation and the Roche Foundation - both of which Wilmers solely funded.
A review of IRS filings reveals that between 2012 and 2017, the two foundations awarded $16.4 million in grants, about one-third of which (or nearly $5.6 million) were awarded to entities in Western New York.
Recipients included educational institutions like U.B., Canisius College, and Westminster Charter School, a favorite of Wilmers which was awarded $1.7 million dollars during that five year period.
Cultural institutions, primarily the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, were also beneficiaries of the foundations, as were health care agencies such as Buffalo Women and Children’s Hospital, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Western New York Hospice.
Wilmers, through his private foundations, was also a benefactor to PUSH Buffalo, which foster's affordable housing, Journey's End Refugee Services, Upon This Rock, a program which funds of Catholic Charities and Catholic Education, and numerous other causes.
The most recent tax forms available indicate that before Wilmers died, the foundations, combined, still had balances of nearly $75 million (without whatever may be added through the disposition of Wilmers’ estate).
And that's where his legacy here may live on, beyond taking a Buffalo-based institution from a $2 billion banking operation to a $120 billion financial powerhouse.