Milwaukee Gets Major Gift From Joseph Zilber

He's giving $50 million to improve life for the people of Milwaukee. This is a lot of money, and it's going to work on making central city neighborhoods better places to live.

A big crowd of people watched the official announcement inside city hall.“This is an unbelievable gift,” Mayor Tom Barrett said.

People on the streets knew about it too, like Sherman Hill. “I was speechless, I mean, because for someone to do that, you know, that's fantastic,” Hill said.Hill runs an agency called Harambee Ombudsman Project. He knows the need and is very glad Joseph Zilber is so generous.

Zilber is a real estate mogul who spends most of his time in Hawaii, but Milwaukee will always be in his heart. Zilber says he hopes his $50 million donation brings new hope for the city.“Every day I get more enthusiastic about the fact that it will work,” Zilber said.

“Don't give up. There’s always hope. I was born in a very poor family and worked hard. It takes hard work, but you shouldn't lose hope,” Zilber said.