Koum has maintained a relatively low public profile regarding his Jewish identity (Reuters photo)
A $36 million donation from WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum has helped a Jewish school in Los Angeles expand its facilities, with a new campus opening for high school students on Sunday. Milken Community School, which teaches students from grades 6 to 12, has moved its upper school students to the Jan Koum Campus in Bel Air. With the addition of this property, the school now has 28 acres of land spread across three campuses. The name changed in June 2026, when the school announced a major contribution from the Koum Family Foundation. In a June 18 announcement, Shulkind confirmed that the foundation had committed $36 million towards the school’s expansion. The contribution increased the total collected through Milken’s capital campaign to $152 million.
The school said the fundraising amount was a record in Jewish education. The Koum Family Foundation supports Jewish education and identity-building, works to strengthen the State of Israel and serves Jewish communities around the world, according to Milken Community School’s official website. The school said the donation reflected Koum’s commitment to supporting Jewish education for future generations. He recalled that the school had begun work on the campus a year earlier and said the project was intended to achieve more than the construction of modern classrooms.
The property was not always called the Jan Koum Campus. After Milken School co-founder and trustee Lowell Milken acquired it from American Jewish University, it was known as Milken East Campus.
The new campus stands at 15600 Mulholland Drive , a property that previously belonged to American Jewish University, according to Jewish Journal.
Israeli singer Ishay Ribo performed at the event, his first appearance before the Milken community, according to the Jewish Journal. It is about half a mile from Milken’s two other campuses, known as the Ruby Family Campus and Saperstein Campus. Stephen Wise Temple is located across the street. The school marked the opening with a gathering of families, students, donors and community leaders. Ribo was the first Israeli artist to headline a concert at Madison Square Garden.