$7.5M donated for Wash. Monument repairs WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. philanthropist David Rubenstein says he will donate $7.5 million to repair earthquake damage to the Washington Monument. The donation from the Maryland billionaire was announced Thursday by the Interior Department. The gift will match federal funds approved by Congress in December and cover the overall cost to repair damage caused by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the region last August. "On behalf of all Americans, I would like to thank David Rubenstein for his extraordinary gift to repair one of our nation's most hallowed symbols," Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said in a statement. Thanks to his patriotism and generosity, we will be able to move forward with the necessary repairs to reopen the monument to the public. With this donation, David continues the great tradition of philanthropists such as Stephen Mather, John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Andrew Mellon who have made significant donations to our National Park System for the benefit of every American. Rubenstein, of Bethesda, Md., is co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a global asset-management firm. "America has been very good to me and I am humbled to be able to honor the father of our country in this way," he said. The Aug. 23, 2011, earthquake damaged both the exterior and interior of the Washington Monument, with the heaviest damage in the Pyramidion -- or pointy top -- of the monument, which sustained cracks of up to 1 inch wide in some of the marble blocks. The monument has been closed to the public since the earthquake. The repair, scheduled to begin by August, is expected to take up to a year to complete. "David Rubenstein is a true patriot and we are grateful for his significant and generous contribution to restore the Washington Monument, one of America's greatest treasures," said Caroline Cunningham, president of the Trust for the National Mall. Rubenstein recently donated $4.5 million to the National Zoo's giant panda program and $13.5 million to the National Archives.