New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just made a HUGE contribution to the Massachusetts General Hospital ... donating $50 MILLION to promote health equity in the area.
81-year-old Kraft -- who is worth around $10 billion, according to Forbes -- says he handed over the check after being inspired by the treatment his late wife, Myra, received while battling ovarian cancer.
Kraft told WCVB he wanted to make it his mission to ensure people of all backgrounds had similar care ... and thanks to his money, the hospital will be able to start multiple new initiatives to make it happen.
One of the hospital's focuses will be sickle cell disease research ... which also happens to be the charitable cause for Patriots player Devin McCourty.
Kraft made a profound statement to Front Office Sports about the matter ... saying, "If this was a disease for white people, I think the cure would have been found already."
"I think it falls to people like myself to try to do what we can to help."
Kraft has made several donations to MGH -- recently named the best hospital in the country -- over the years, but the organization says this newest round of support has more than doubled the amounts in the past.
Kraft's newest gesture marks the largest financial gift given to MGH in its 211-year existence.