He hosted President Barack Obama's 49th birthday party, where admission was a $30,000 donation to the Democratic National Committee. He has made further donations to Democratic candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, Dick Durbin, Melissa Bean, Rahm Emanuel, Lisa Madigan, Rod Blagojevich, Lou Lang, and Michael Madigan. An art patron, he sits on the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He also has an art collection worth $300 million. He sits on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University.