George Norcross, one of New Jersey's most powerful political powerbrokers, is giving $100 million to the Camden hospital where he was born — and the institution will now carry his name.

Norcross, who serves as chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, one of the nation's largest insurance brokerages, and is considered one of the most powerful political players in New Jersey, announced earlier this summer that he would give $100 million to Cooper University Health Care in Camden, N.J. Norcross and his three brothers were all born at Cooper, according to the health care organization's announcement — the start of a multidecade relationship between the Norcross family and the hospital.

The gift is the largest single philanthropic donation in the health system's history and one of the largest ever made to a hospital in New Jersey. It forms part of Cooper's $3 billion expansion in Camden, a city where the hospital is one of the largest employers and a major anchor institution. In his honor, the family will add the Norcross name to the organization, although they have not designated which buildings or programs will carry it.

"For more than 50 years, our family has been dedicated to Cooper, and we are so proud to make this contribution to ensure that Cooper and the thousands of talented, committed professionals who make a difference every day for the people of Camden and South Jersey can continue the important work of investing in their future and in Camden's continued renaissance," Norcross said in the announcement.

The family's five decades at Cooper span more than one-third of the hospital's 139-year history.

A family legacy — and a connection to state tax breaks

The $100 million gift was made in honor of Norcross' parents. His late father, George E. Norcross Jr., was a labor leader who served on the hospital's board from 1976 to 1983 and pushed to keep quality health care in Camden while other hospitals spread to the suburbs. His mother, Anne Carol Conner Norcross, spent years advocating for seniors and underserved Camden residents.

Norcross himself has served on Cooper's board since 1990 and is the longest-serving chairman in its history. Under his leadership, Cooper has grown into a top-tier academic health system and the only state-designated Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey. It is also Camden's largest employer, with 14,000 employees.

The health system said the Norcross gift will also flow into Camden and its broader South Jersey service area, underscoring how large charitable donations to a regional hospital can shape both medical services and community programs. That tracks with how Norcross has historically given: through his family foundation, he helped launch the Camden Health and Athletic Association with a $1 million commitment. That program has since put more than 1,000 Camden kids into youth sports.

Norcross has long framed his Camden investments as personal rather than transactional, saying his drive to invest in his hometown is not influenced by money. "I've already made my money," he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018. Instead, he said, he wants to restore Camden to "the mecca it was when my father was a boy" growing up there.

Some people have had their doubts over the years, however. Norcross spent years at the center of Camden's controversial state tax-incentive program, which dates back more than a decade. A ProPublica and WNYC investigation found that Norcross and his allies received $1.1 billion of the $1.6 billion in total state tax breaks tied to Camden, including an $86 million award for his own firm to relocate to the city. Norcross has maintained that he has invested more in Camden than he has received back in tax breaks.

In 2024, he and five others were indicted on racketeering charges. New Jersey's then-attorney general alleged they used political influence to seize valuable Camden waterfront property and tax credits, but a judge dismissed the case in February 2025. An appeals court upheld that ruling, and in early 2026 the state declined to appeal to the Supreme Court. Norcross always maintained his innocence and called the case politically motivated. The matter is now closed.

"Nothing would have occurred in Camden without these tax incentive programs," he told Philadelphia public radio WHYY in 2019. "They did precisely what they were designed [to do] by the legislature and the governor."

He had been defending himself for a while before that, telling the Inquirer in 2018: "I've made some mistakes in the past. I can't think of what they were at the moment. But I don't have a guilty conscience."

And now, his name will be strewn across the health care organization his family has been connected to for years.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.