{"id":250171,"date":"2026-04-28T21:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250171\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T21:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:01:12","slug":"fiu-benefactor-nicole-wertheims-legacy-in-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250171\/","title":{"rendered":"FIU benefactor Nicole Wertheim\u2019s legacy in South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nicole<\/p>\n

Nicole Wertheim at Florida International University\u2019s College of Nursing, which carries her name after the foundation she shared with ex-husband Herbert Wertheim donated $10 million to the nursing program.<\/p>\n

Courtesy Erica Wertheim Zohar<\/p>\n

Nicole Wertheim was honored by South Florida\u2019s philanthropic community on April 20 for the more than $300 million she and her ex-husband Herbert Wertheim had donated to local institutions for decades.<\/p>\n

This particular honor, by SocialMiami, naming Wertheim as its Philanthropist of the Year, was in recognition of the $10 million gift she and her then-husband made in 2013 to Florida International University to create the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences.<\/p>\n

Her daughter Erica Wertheim Zohar accepted the honor on her mother\u2019s behalf. That\u2019s because her mom was sailing the Pacific to Polynesia aboard the residence ship, The World, thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n

Soon after the ceremony in Miami, she called her mom. But the phone rang and rang.<\/p>\n

At the moment Nicole Wertheim was being feted for her philanthropy, her daughters Erica and Vanessa learned, \u201cshe was already pursuing a final horizon,\u201d they wrote in a family memorial.<\/p>\n

\u201cA poignant irony,\u201d Wertheim Zohar said.<\/p>\n

Nicole Wertheim died at age 82 on April 20 in her shipboard room, the crew told Erica. The cause of death was listed as heart related, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe left this life at the exact moment the city she helped build had paused to say thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nicole Nicole Wertheim aboard The World off the coast of Portugal in 2025. She was living aboard the residential ship en route to Polynesia when she died on April 20, 2026, at 82. Courtesy Erica Wertheim Zohar Early life in Miami on the river<\/p>\n

Curiously, Wertheim\u2019s life in Miami began on its rough and tumble waterway.<\/p>\n

For a few years after they were married in 1969, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim lived on a 22-by 52-foot houseboat moored in the Miami River. The abode had leopard-print walls, a red kitchen sink, black countertops and no other appliances, the Miami Herald reported in a 2005 profile of the couple. A broom from Sears served double duty as a place to hang their clothes. Their most familiar neighbor was the occasional manatee that drifted by their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery \u201860s,\u201d Nicole Wertheim told the Herald at the time.<\/p>\n

Dr. Herbie, as he came to be known, would leave that watery home to work at his optometry office. He initially grew up living above his parents\u2019 Miami Beach bakery where they had settled in 1945. He dropped out of high school when his self-diagnosed dyslexia made it difficult for him to read. Other kids made fun of him in elementary school when they saw he had dirty feet from wearing old shoes with no socks.<\/p>\n

Nicole, who came to the United States from Nice with little but her name, Nicole Laurenti, and a model\u2019s portfolio and a desire to see the world, was her husband\u2019s bookkeeper and assistant.<\/p>\n

When a few bucks started to come in from the optometry business, the Wertheims dashed off a $2,000 down payment toward the $16,000 purchase of 2.5 acres of land in the Killian neighborhood in South Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n

They built their own house, they told the Herald in 2005. They rented a crane on the weekends for $25 an hour. \u201cI\u2019d pick up the crane and drive it, and Nicole would follow in the car … \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c… At 20 miles an hour,\u201d she finished his sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we put the steel in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the house had a 135-foot conservatory and the couple sold it for a house in Gables Estates.<\/p>\n

In 1971, Dr. Herbie founded Brain Power Inc., to make optical lens tints and ophthalmic instruments and chemicals, including the development of UV 400 Tint, which deflects UV rays in glasses.<\/p>\n

A best friend and hero \"Nicole Nicole Wertheim (second from right) with her daughter Erica Wertheim Zohar (left) in Tanzania in 2024. Courtesy Erica Wertheim Zohar <\/p>\n

Then, as the first of their two daughters, Erica, was born, Nicole began what some call her greatest work: parenting. To her own children and, soon, the community\u2019s children through endowments and scholarships, including $1 million to FIU\u2019s music graduate students in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Wertheim became an inspiration to her children, they say, when, in July 2023, she filed for divorce from her husband, citing infidelity.<\/a> She was over 80 at the time. He\u2019s now 86. They had been married 54 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother was my best friend and my hero,\u201d Wertheim Zohar said. \u201cShe taught all of us to stand up for what you believe in no matter your age. She had a quiet strength. She was the true essence of beauty, brains, and grace but most of all a gentle and selfless love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Dr. Vanessa Wertheim, a nurse and educator: \u201cMy mother was the definition of resilient, graceful, and kind. She was unconditional in her love, forthcoming with her wisdom, and unwavering in her philanthropy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philanthropist Darlene P\u00e9rez, namesake benefactor with her husband Jorge to the P\u00e9rez Art Museum Miami, and co-leader of The Jorge M. P\u00e9rez Family Foundation, befriended Nicole Wertheim when both families joined the Giving Pledge a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was definitely the most friendly and so modest and so elegant and so kind,\u201d P\u00e9rez said. \u201cI learned a lot being in groups and committee groups with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also bonded over a shared love for nursing and mutual support of FIU\u2019s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. P\u00e9rez, an advanced registered nurse practitioner who earned her undergraduate and nursing degrees from FIU, is on its board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a connection. We were fond of each other for that beautiful profession and her support for FIU. When we saw each other it was meaningful, and I learned something all the time,\u201d P\u00e9rez said.<\/p>\n

Nicole and Herbert\u2019s humble beginnings marked them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we have to be very sensitive with children,\u201d Nicole Wertheim told the Miami Herald in 2005, about the motivation that led the couple to create the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation in 1977, and in 2015, to join the Giving Pledge alongside luminaries like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Miami\u2019s Jorge and Darlene Perez, with promises to donate much of their wealth.<\/p>\n

The Wertheims\u2019 philanthropy \"Herbert Herbert and Nicole Wertheim gave a $10 million gift to Florida International University in 2013 to enhance the school’s performing arts programs. The Miami couple have donated millions to FIU over the years for many of its schools and programs. The nursing school carries Nicole\u2019s name. This file photo was taken Aug. 7, 2014. Florida International University <\/p>\n

The Wertheims eventually amassed a fortune topping $3 billion through investments and proceeds from the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a builder of success, not just a beneficiary of it,\u201d her daughters Erica and Vanessa said.<\/p>\n

Among the beneficiaries in the public sector:<\/p>\n

Nicole\u2019s name graces the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the FIU School of Music, and the FIU Wertheim Conservatory. The couple\u2019s donations included a $10 million naming gift to the FIU School of Music, which is part of the College of Communication, Architecture + the Arts. Also, the $10 million gift to create the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Other named institutions at FIU include: the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the Herbert & Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center, and the Wertheim Plant Research and Teaching Conservatory.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Florida International University receives record $10 million gift for its music school<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The The Wertheim, FIU\u2019s Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts building on April 26, 2026. The venue was hosting a performance by Alhambra Orchestra for their 36th season finale. Howard Cohen hcohen@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

\u201cNicole Wertheim,\u201d FIU President Jeanette M. Nu\u00f1ez said in her message to the university community, was \u201ca remarkable champion and benefactor of FIU whose compassion, generosity and vision have left an indelible mark on our university and our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIU nominated Wertheim in 2023 for induction as an honorary member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing. \u201cA rare tribute reserved for those whose dedication to the field transcends the ordinary,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said. \u201cWhat set Nicole apart was not the scale of her generosity but the sincerity of her presence. She was never transactional. She showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Dr. Juan Cendan, dean of FIU\u2019s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, in a message to Wertheim\u2019s daughters: \u201cWhile Nicole Wertheim often remained outside the spotlight, the depth of her commitment, insight and resolve was clear to those within the FIU community who had the opportunity to work with her. For more than five decades, she was a true partner in the vision and generosity that made so many transformative gifts possible. Her perspective, values, and steady guidance played an essential role in the philanthropic spirit that has touched countless lives through FIU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the more than $280 million in educational gifts during the couple\u2019s marriage, much also went outside of FIU. Some of these included $50 million for the School of Optometry at UC Berkeley; $100 million to the University of Florida for the UF Scripps Institute of Biomedical Innovation & Technology; and $25 million to UC San Diego for the School of Public Health, according to daughter Wertheim Zohar.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just buildings where you may have seen the couple\u2019s names. Did you watch South Florida\u2019s public television Channel 2 in the 1980s and \u201890s? If you watched \u201cNational Geographic,\u201d \u201cNova\u201d and \u201cThe Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau\u201d you saw the Wertheim name on your TV screen. The couple helped fund and sponsor those Channel 2 programs or the station wouldn\u2019t have been able to provide them, according to Miami Herald archives.<\/p>\n

The final chapter \"Nicole Nicole Wertheim in Antarctica in 2024 in a family photo. Courtesy Erica Wertheim Zohar <\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the most extraordinary chapter of Nicole\u2019s life occurred after age 80,\u201d her daughters Erica and Vanessa wrote in their memorial, shared with the Herald. They were referring to her July 2023 divorce filing and the legal battles<\/a> in Miami-Dade Circuit Court over foundation asset<\/a>s that followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Nicole, this difficult decision was the ultimate act of protection \u2014 protecting her own dignity and the integrity of the family legacy she had spent a lifetime building. … She wanted her legacy to protect other women from the invisible patterns of control she had navigated herself, ensuring that the strength she found at 80 could be shared with those who felt they had no voice,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe proved that the greatest gift one can give isn\u2019t a building \u2014 it\u2019s the example of a life lived with dignity, fierce love, and the strength to stand tall until the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survivors<\/p>\n

Wertheim\u2019s survivors include her daughters Erica Wertheim Zohar and Dr. Vanessa Wertheim; and grandchildren Elan, Ethan, Alexa, and Julia. Services are private. Her family created a memorial page at nicolewertheim.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Nicole Nicole Wertheim was being celebrated for her philanthropy by SocialMiami when she died at 82 on April 20. She was being honored for a $10 million gift she and her then-husband Herbert made to Florida International University in 2013 to create the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Courtesy Erica Wertheim Zohar \"Patrons Patrons of Alhambra Orchestra\u2019s season finale that featured a closing performance of Beethoven\u2019s Fifth Symphony gather afterward inside The Wertheim, FIU\u2019s Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts building on April 26, 2026. Howard Cohen hcohen@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 12:47 PM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.
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