The **Ford Foundation**, established on January 15, 1936, by Edsel Ford and other Ford Motor Company executives, began as a charitable organization aimed at supporting scientific, educational, and public welfare initiatives, primarily in Michigan[1][4][9]. It was originally created partly as a strategic response to the 1935 U.S. Revenue Act, which introduced a 70% estate tax on large inheritances, to help preserve family control over Ford Motor Company stock[1][4][9]. After the deaths of Edsel Ford (1943) and Henry Ford (1947), Edsel’s son Henry Ford II took leadership and transformed the foundation into the largest philanthropic organization globally by leveraging the significant stock bequests from the Ford family[1][6][9]. A pivotal moment came in the early 1950s when the Gaither Study Committee recommended that the foundation shift focus from local philanthropy to international efforts addressing pressing global issues, including poverty, democracy, peace, and education[1][3]. This led to moving the foundation’s headquarters to New York City and opening international offices in countries such as India, Nigeria, Brazil, and China from the 1950s through the 1990s[3]. The Ford Foundation has invested over $80 billion (inflation-adjusted) across eight decades to advance human dignity, civil rights, social justice, education, poverty reduction, urban development, and human rights worldwide[3][6][7]. It played a critical role in supporting the civil rights movement by funding public interest law institutions and minority legal advocacy groups in the 1960s and 1970s, significantly shaping social justice in the U.S.[5]. Notably, the foundation’s work often intersects with business and technology through its support for inclusive economic development and education initiatives. Despite its philanthropic successes, the foundation has faced internal and external challenges, including a notable rift with Henry Ford II in 1976 over governance and culture