Peter Nicholas

Who is Peter Nicholas?

Peter M. Nicholas co-founded medical device firm Boston Scientific with partner John Abele.

Nicholas earned a B.A. from Duke University in 1964 and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Nicholas is Chairman Emeritus of the Duke Board of Trustees. In 2005 he was ranked #78 by Forbes magazine's list of "The 400 Richest Americans", with an estimated worth of $4 billion.

Born to Greek-American parents, he met scientist Abele at a kids' soccer game in 1979. They borrowed $800,000 to start Boston Scientific, a manufacturer of medical devices. He helped grow the company through a series of astute acquisitions.

In 1996, the Nicholas family gave $20 million to Duke University for the School of the Environment, which subsequently renamed the school in his honor. In 2000, Nicholas was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2004, Nicholas and his wife Ginny made another large pledge to Duke, totaling $72 million. $70 million of that donation was to go to the Nicholas School of the Environment, while $2 million was to go to Perkins library. However, as of February 2012, much of the $72 million pledge has not been paid to Duke, far past the December 2008 deadline.