Two Holocaust survivors have made “the largest donation to an Israeli institution ever”.

Dr Howard and Lottie Marcus, who escaped Nazi Germany separately then met and married in New York, left Ben-Gurion University $400m in their will.

A spokesperson from BGU said that the gift was “the largest donation ever made to benefit any institution in the State of Israel.”

Lottie Marcus died in December, aged 99, just two months short of her 100th birthday. Her husband died in 2014, aged 104.

Dr and Mrs Marcus made their fortune by investing in US multibillionaire business Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway long before it rose to become the fifth largest company in the world.

Mr Buffett said that “knowing them, it comes as no surprise that they elected to use their financial success to enhance the lives of thousands of Israeli young people.”

BGU has promised that the funds will be “used to establish a permanent endowment in support of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, which will yield endowment assets that more than double the size of the current University endowment”.

Prof Rivka Carmi, president of BGU, call the couple “rare and special people,” adding that they were “deeply missed, but their legacy will be felt in every BGU hallway and courtyard; in each classroom and laboratory; and by the faculty, students and staff who will be touched by their noble-spirited generosity for generations to come.

The professor said this was “an historic day, and not just for the university - their generosity makes a statement to Israel and the entire world.”

After first seeing the university in 1997, the two were drawn to BGU’s potential to help bring about peace in the Middle East through innovative water solutions.

Both Marcuses were awarded honorary doctoral degrees in 2004, while the Marcus Family Campus was named after them in 2005.