
USC Trustee David Bohnett is a philanthropist and technology entrepreneur who founded the pioneering Internet portal and social media site GeoCities.com in 1994. Today, as chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, Bohnett is committed to effecting positive change through community building and social activism.
Since 1999, Bohnett’s foundation has provided funding, state-of-the-art technology and tech support to hundreds of innovative organizations and institutions in several primary areas, ranging from LGBT-related causes to arts and educational programs to voting rights and registration initiatives. In addition, the David Bohnett CyberCenters offer business, educational, research and recreational opportunities online to users at more than 60 LGBT centers nationwide.
In 2016, Bohnett pledged $15 million to endow and name the David C. Bohnett Residential College, focusing on social justice and community service, at the new USC Village. His gift also established a leadership fund at the USC Price School of Public Policy, and endowed a chair in social entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business.
In addition to his roles at USC and the foundation, Bohnett chairs the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts board’s Executive Committee, is vice chairman of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association board and serves as a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) and LACMA.
Bohnett earned a BS in business administration from the USC Marshall School of Business.