Worth their weight in beer and gold

Who is giving the big bucks to San Diego State’s nonprofit Campanile Foundation? Not all the names have been made available, but according to a document recently released by the foundation under the requirements of a new state disclosure law, Ron Fowler is the institution’s biggest whale. The mega-millionaire beer distributor and Padres owner gave a hefty $3 million to the foundation’s “Challenge Fund for Athletics” in December 2011. He got just $4555 worth of so-called benefits in return, presumably various minor blandishments offered by the university. Other big donors included James S. Brown, with $90,500 for the Aztec Club Fund Drive in 2012; BioMed Realty Trust’s Alan D. Gold with $105,000 for the AC Golf Tournament; and Jeff Jacobs, a son of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, with $51,500 to the Aztec Club’s Director’s Cabinet.