James Turner, the school’s headmaster, says that Ledecky has been “unbelievably amazing” in supporting the school, both financially—Ledecky, along with William H. Binnie ’79, backs the school—and personally, by spending one day a week there.

Turner, who says he and Ledecky have become friends through this partnership, says Ledecky’s passion for the children shines through his work at the academy.

“He has a commitment to children,” Turner says. “He always wants to chat with the children and wants to know how they’re doing—he actually takes an interest in the kids.”

Ledecky says he loves his time at the academy, calling it the “most important thing in my life.”

“I see myself in these kids, and I see the hope and promise in these kids,” he says.

Ledecky’s other love is sports, which he says is also “ a way to build community.”

He was part-owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals from and the NBA’s Washington Wizards from 1999 to 2001, which he called “the most fun I had” as a result of his financial success. Recruiting Michael Jordan to make a comeback and co-own the Wizards was a real thrill, according to Ledecky.

He has also made failed bids for MLB’s Cincinnati Reds, the Oakland Athletics as well as the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.

HUMBLE ROOTS

In making bids for professional sports teams, Ledecky has come a long way from his working class childhood. He was the son of a Czech immigrant who came in 1947 to study English at Rutgers. His father stayed in the United States, taking a job as a dishwasher at a Howard Johnson’s just off the New Jersey Turnpike. Meanwhile, amidst the political upheaval in Czechoslovakia, his uncle was thrown into work camp, and his grandfather was made a janitor.

Ledecky’s father strove to improve his children’s lot, and he urged them to take school seriously.

“His goal from the outset was to try to educate his kids and make sure they had a better life than he did,” he says. “There was a real emphasis from the outset on the value of an Ivy League education.”

Growing up in Brooklyn and Queens, Ledecky became a New York Yankees fan. He recalls his mother teaching him to love reading by giving him the biographies of famous baseball players.

In 1972, the Ledeckys moved to the affluent New York suburb of Greenwich, Conn. for Ledecky’s father’s job.

“It was the Beverly Hillbillies,” he jokes. “It was like I had been parachuted into a different world.”