Robert M. Levy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 24, 1950, to Barbara and Louis Levy. Diane von Schlegell was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 5, 1951, to Virginia and Robert von Schlegell. Robert and Diane married on November 8, 1992.
Robert graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1972 with a B.A. in Economics and from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with an M.B.A. in Finance in 1974. Diane graduated from Pine Manor College in 1971 with a B.A. in Fine Arts.
Robert worked at the First National Bank of Chicago from 1974 to 1977; at Gofen & Glossberg in Chicago from 1977 to 1985; and at Harris Associates LP in Chicago from 1985 to 2016, where he served as Chairman, President, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, US Equities.
Diane worked as the owner of The Very Thing, an interior design company in Winnetka, Illinois, while also raising four children.
Robert served on the board of the University of Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2021 (now Trustee Emeritus), the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009 to the present (Chairman of the Board, 2014-2021), and at Vanderbilt University from 2021 to the present. He served on the Executive, Development, and Investment committees on the boards of all three institutions. He is also on the board of the Georgia Historical Society.
Diane serves on the board of the Field Museum in Chicago, the Chicago Botanic Garden, and is a former board member of the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also serves on three Curatorial Committees at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Robert and Diane have three children—Alex Levy of West Palm Beach, Florida, Eleanor Shabat of Chicago, and Robert S. Levy of Nashville, Tennessee—and seven grandchildren.
Robert and Diane established the Robert M. and Diane vS. Levy Fund at the Georgia Historical Society in 2025, ensuring that their commitment to Georgia history will continue in perpetuity.