The $30-Million Woman : The generous plans of Joan Irvine Smith

What would you get if you crossed J.R. Ewing with John Beresford Tipton, the philanthropic hero of that old TV show “The Millionaire”?

Maybe Joan Irvine Smith?

Smith, the Irvine family heiress, has fought a long “Dallas”-like legal battle with Irvine Co. chairman Donald L. Bren over the value of her stake in the company. But that’s finally coming to a close, and Smith is deciding what to do with the $252.6-million check she will receive later this year. It’s not as much as Smith wanted out of the lawsuit, and not as much as the multibillionaire Tipton had to dispose of, but it’s still a sizeable chunk of change. Smith has generously decided she will share a lot of it with Orange County.

Call it fantasy philanthropy, but Smith has the means to do what a lot of people with good intentions would do, if they only could win the lottery. With her “winnings” from the lawsuit, Smith says she’ll spend $30 million. That would provide the region with substantial new academic resources and a windfall for environmental causes.

At the top of the list? Millions to UC Irvine--which was built on land donated by the Irvine Co.--to help found a law school, study the ozone layer and water reclamation, and finance a research branch of an ear institute on the campus. Smith also would pay for other kinds of water research, one of her pet concerns.

Smith also has made a list of those who would get $100,000 checks: Mission San Juan Capistrano, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, Save the Rainforest, Dolphin Research Center, Cousteau Society, Nature Conservancy, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Hubbs-Sea World Research Center.

On “The Millionaire,” we watched what happened when someone suddenly became rich. Usually, we learned that “the best things in life are free.” That’s true, but it helps to have money to pursue worthwhile goals. Smith is having fun that could be to the great benefit of many Southern Californians.