Early artworks of importance to her include John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark, and Picasso's Three Musicians.

Her father gave her husband and her cousin the money to start his first company, and the couple became significantly wealthy through this and subsequent businesses.

Broad took walks in the evenings through the galleries on La Cienega Boulevard and began acquiring works by Southern California artists.

[1][6] In February 2015, a public preview of a special installation attracted some 3,500 visitors while the museum was still under construction.

[1] Broad is a notable patron of classical music and opera, and is close friends with Plácido Domingo.

[15] The Broads also donated a significant sum to higher education organisations, including Michigan State University (MSU), where Eli studied.

They donated $28 million for the construction of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid.

[18] In 2003, they gave a $100 million founding gift to create the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which was to focus on genomics research.

[22] Then, in 2008, they gave a major gift to the University of California, San Francisco for the new headquarters of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, which opened in February 2011.

In October 2013, the Broads were awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership by Philanthropy Roundtable.