Annenberg will live on through his philanthropy: schools, arts will benefit most.

Although Walter H. Annenberg, the former ambassador, publisher and noted philanthropist, died recently following a bout with pneumonia, the fortune he built with TV Guide, will continue to fund philanthropy.

Annenberg, 94, who during his life gave away more than $1 billion, left his mark on numerous nonprofits throughout the world. The philanthropy will continue through the ongoing work of The Annenberg Foundation in St. Davids, Pa.

The foundation's primary grant-making interests, according to information on its Web site, are in education, culture, the arts, and community and civic life. The foundation provides funding for programs likely to produce beneficent change on a large scale. In addition to the national Challenge Grant for Public School Reform, a $500 million matching grants program of 18 locally designed projects, the Annenberg Foundation and its predecessor organizations provided support for a 20-year partnership in educational programming with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Other major grants have been made to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Metropolitan Opera, and the Music Center of Los Angeles County. Some recent awards support major design and construction projects, including the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., Liberty Bell Pavilion and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and The British Museum in London.

The greatest beneficiaries of Annenberg's generosity have been the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California (USC), both received $120 million toward establishing schools of communications. In September, the foundation announced that the institutions have been awarded an endowment worth $100 million each.

"Over the course of his long life, the ambassador had many titles: publisher, statesman, philanthropist, visionary. Each and every one was well earned," said Elizabeth M. Daley, executive director of the USC Annenberg Center for Communication. "He will be deeply missed. He made our world a far better place in which to live."

Geoffrey Cowan, dean of the Annenberg School at USC, echoed Daley's statements. "He was the most generous philanthropist of his generation, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to improve public education, provide public access to the world's artistic treasures and create two great schools of communication that carry his name. His great heart and powerful vision will continue to guide this school, its faculty and its students for generations to come."

The Annenberg Foundation doled out 262 grants during 2001, with the majority going to education groups. In the program area of education, 110 grants were awarded by the foundation. His death should not inhibit the grant making process, according to the foundation.

"Lee Annenberg (his wife) continues as president of the foundation and the mission of the foundation is unchanged," said Kathleen Jamison, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "There's a West Coast office that (daughter) Wallis Annenberg, the vice president, heads. It's in extremely capable hands."

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was one of the beneficiaries of Annenberg's love of the arts. Over the years he contributed approximately $40 million for acquisitions. He also donated prominent works of art including the van Gogh painting "Wheatfield With Cypresses," a van Gogh painting of shoes, and a major Asian sculpture, as well.

Upon his death the Met received the largest single gift of art it had collected in more than 25 years.

"It's a collection that he announced his intention to leave in 1991 - the 53 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings and drawings and watercolors," explained Harold Holzer, vice president of communications at the museum. "They have been here for six months of every year for the last 11 years. Now they become part of the permanent collection because upon his death the other 50 percent comes to the Met. We're very lucky and grateful for the gift."

Annenberg amassed his wealth by guiding media giant Triangle Publications, which included such periodical mainstays as TV Guide, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Seventeen magazine. In 1998 he sold Triangle Publications to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for $3 billion. Forbes magazine estimated his 2002 net worth at $4 billion, placing him at number 39 on its list of wealthiest Americans.

His financial success notwithstanding, Annenberg is remembered by many as the U.S. ambassador to Britain during the Nixon administration. During his appointment from 1969 to 1974 he became known for his charitable acts that included contributions to British nonprofits and cultural organizations, including setting up his own private art collection for an exhibition at the Tate Gallery.