Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X. Courtesy of Getty Images

By Camillo Barone March 15, 2024

The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation is planning to give its Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award to, among others, Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch.

Only one problem: Ginsburg’s family and associates object. 

The decision to include Musk and Murdoch among this year’s honorees has stirred allegations that the foundation is veering away from the principles Ginsburg championed throughout her career. The award was first given in 2020; previous honorees include Barbra Streisand and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Musk — CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter — and Murdoch, the conservative media mogul behind Fox News, were named as honorees alongside Martha Stewart, Sylvester Stallone and Michael Milken. 

The five honorees will be feted at an awards gala at the Library of Congress on April 13.

While the Opperman Foundation hailed the award’s recipients for their “extraordinary achievements,” voices close to Ginsburg argued that their inclusion undermines her legacy.

 In a statement, Ginsburg’s family expressed disappointment, emphasizing that the choices of honorees this year constitute an “affront” to her memory. 

“The Justice’s family wish to make clear that they do not support using their mother’s name to celebrate this year’s slate of awardees, and that the Justice’s family has no affiliation with and does not endorse this award,” the statement said.  

Revelations regarding the significant contributions to Republicans made by Julie Opperman, widow of Dwight D. Opperman and current chair of the foundation, and widow of the foundation’s namesake, have fueled concerns that the award has been politicized.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount