Nina Rosenwald is an American heiress to the Sears, Roebuck fortune, an investor, philanthropist, political activist, and founder of the Gatestone Institute (established in 2012), a New York-based right-wing think tank focused on international affairs, critiquing Islamism and Islamic extremism, and supporting pro-Israel advocacy; the institute has faced substantial criticism from civil rights organizations for publishing content characterized as anti-Muslim. She is the president of the Abstraction Fund and the Fairbrook Foundation, and a principal at American Securities Management, a private investment firm overseeing billions in assets; through these and the Rosenwald Family Foundation (also referred to as the William Rosenwald Family Fund), she directs significant philanthropic support to conservative causes, particularly anti-Islamist and pro-Israel initiatives, including millions in grants to organizations such as the Middle East Forum ($2.3 million from 2000-2012), Center for Security Policy ($437,000 in 2003), CAMERA ($143,420 from 2009-2012), Zionist Organization of America ($22,000 from 2009-2012), David Horowitz's Freedom Center, Clarion Fund, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, and Brigitte Gabriel's ACT for America, influencing policy debates on Israeli security, media accuracy, anti-BDS efforts, national security, and Middle East policy. Her philanthropy has drawn controversy, with critics like Max Blumenthal in The Nation labeling her the 'Sugar Mama of Anti-Muslim Hate' for over $2.8 million in donations since 2000 to entities accused of promoting Islamophobia, and her family fund has supported West Bank settlements, including Beit El yeshiva and Ariel University, via the Central Fund of Israel, drawing condemnation for aiding 'hard-core' outposts.

Born and raised in New York City as one of three daughters to William Rosenwald, a prominent philanthropist and chairman of American Securities, and Mary Kurtz Rosenwald, a professional violinist and refugee from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Germany, she inherited a family tradition of Jewish philanthropy rooted in her grandfather Julius Rosenwald's legacy of supporting education and civil rights. She holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. in English from New York University, and has built a career in investment management and nonprofit leadership, serving as vice president of the William Rosenwald Family Fund and co-chair of the board of American Securities Management.

She occupies a central role in the pro-Israel donor landscape in the United States, maintaining deep ties to organizations such as the Hudson Institute, Middle East Forum, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC, former), Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (former vice president), Washington Institute for Near East Policy (former), and others, including founding roles in the Center for Security Policy's Board of Regents; she has also been involved in transatlantic networks that critique Islamist ideology and Western immigration policies, reflecting her neoconservative leanings within a pro-Israel lobby network. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has been recognized with awards like the 2003 Louis Brandeis Award, and served as a delegate at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Her affiliations include some outdated or erroneous listings, such as a nonexistent MEMRI chairmanship, and she has been involved in family trusts linked to the Bernie Madoff scandal as a trustee, though no personal legal actions are documented, highlighting scrutiny over her influence in neoconservative and counter-jihad networks.