Yale Law School Mourns the Loss of Richard Ravitch ’58

Yale Law School mourns the passing of Richard “Dick” Ravitch ’58 LLB, a lawyer, businessman, and public official, who died on June 25 at the age of 89.

“Dick was a legend, a leader of exceptional talent and integrity. He will be terribly missed, and we will always honor his legacy,” said Dean Heather K. Gerken. “Our hearts are with his family and friends today.”

Ravitch was born on July 7, 1933, in Manhattan, where he would graduate Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1955. He spent the early years of his career working for his family’s construction company, which he had partially inherited. His most notable apartment projects — Waterside Plaza and Manhattan Plaza — proved his abilities as a formidable problem-solver and led to the governor asking him to help the Urban Development Corporation complete more than 30,000 affordable housing units. 

Ravitch was best known for his roles as chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as lieutenant governor of New York from 2009 to 2010, and he had been called upon throughout his career to solve substantial fiscal issues in both the public and private sectors. In the mid-1970s, while New York City was in the throes of a financial crisis, he found a way for the city to resolve its defaults and thus avoid bankruptcy. His keen financial knowledge has influenced the transformation of New York City’s transit system and fostered affordable housing initiatives. Most recently, he served as co-chair of the State Budget Crisis Task Force. 

Throughout the years, Ravitch’s commitment to the Law School remained strong. He taught courses on state and local budgets as a visiting lecturer with Professor David Schleicher and established the Richard Ravitch ’58 Scholarship to offer financial assistance for deserving students. A portrait of Ravitch was unveiled on Sept. 11, 2022, and now hangs at the Law School.

“Dick Ravitch was a dear classmate and friend. He represented all that this school tries to do and seeks to be. He used law to accomplish good things in private life and in public life and he always did it with an open mind and a great heart. I will miss him immensely,” said Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law Guido Calabresi ’58. 

“His range was remarkable — he brought the same energy and brilliance to representing Major League Baseball as he did to running a bank, the same relentless focus on the public good to his time turning around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as he did helping turn around Detroit and Puerto Rico some 30 years later,” said Professor David Schleicher. “He was an innovator, coming with the most important new tool in municipal finance for addressing fiscal crises, used to help save New York State’s Urban Development Corporation and the City itself. Dick was a true original, and remarkable person. He will be missed.”

Ravitch is survived by his wife, Kathleen M. Doyle; his sons, Michael Ravitch and Joseph Ravitch ’88; his stepdaughters, Carrie and Laura Doyle and Liz Doyle Carey; and 13 grandchildren.