Interesting recent article on the wealth of US Universities.

The richest colleges in the U.S.

Harvard University's endowment, at more than $50 billion (50.7B), to date (2023), is the biggest among all U.S. universities and is larger than the GDP of more than 120 nations, including countries such as Tunisia, Bahrain and Iceland.


Many Ivy League and other top universities have tapped donors and alumni to bolster their wealth, which can rival the GDP of many nations. Here are the top 20 schools.


Top 20 Endowments among US Universities
(2021 $$)

Harvard University
53 B
Yale University
42 B
The University of Texas - System Office
40 B
Stanford University
38 B
Princeton University
37 B
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
27 B
University of Pennsylvania
21 B
University of Notre Dame
18 B
Texas A & M University–College Station
17 B
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
17 B
University of California–System Administration Central Office
16 B
Columbia University in the City of New York
14 B
Washington University in St Louis
14 B
Duke University
13 B
Emory University
12 B
Northwestern University
11 B
Vanderbilt University
11 B
University of Virginia–Main Campus
10 B
University of Chicago
10 B
Cornell University
9 B

Endowment size as of 2021

Chart/Stats: Aimee Picchi Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Ms. Picchi is a part of CBS MoneyWatch.


Harvard noted that its endowment only returned 2.9% in fiscal year 2023 — far below its goal of 8%. It's endowment has fallen in the past two years. But donations provided the university with 45% of its revenue through gifts and endowment income, signaling the importance of financial contributions from wealthy alumni.

W&M's figures, at the time of the list, was $1.3 billion, reportedly at $1.4 billion, in 2023.
We rank 7th among Virginia Universities, behind UVA (10B), Richmond (2.5B), VCU (2.0B), Virginia Tech (1.7B), Washington & Lee (1.7B) and Liberty (1.5B).

We still have a ways to go.

(12-15-2023 05:35 PM)billymac Wrote:  Interesting recent article on the wealth of US Universities.

The richest colleges in the U.S.

Harvard University's endowment, at more than $50 billion (50.7B), to date (2023), is the biggest among all U.S. universities and is larger than the GDP of more than 120 nations, including countries such as Tunisia, Bahrain and Iceland.


Many Ivy League and other top universities have tapped donors and alumni to bolster their wealth, which can rival the GDP of many nations. Here are the top 20 schools.


Top 20 Endowments among US Universities
(2021 $$)

Harvard University
53 B
Yale University
42 B
The University of Texas - System Office
40 B
Stanford University
38 B
Princeton University
37 B
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
27 B
University of Pennsylvania
21 B
University of Notre Dame
18 B
Texas A & M University–College Station
17 B
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
17 B
University of California–System Administration Central Office
16 B
Columbia University in the City of New York
14 B
Washington University in St Louis
14 B
Duke University
13 B
Emory University
12 B
Northwestern University
11 B
Vanderbilt University
11 B
University of Virginia–Main Campus
10 B
University of Chicago
10 B
Cornell University
9 B

Endowment size as of 2021

Chart/Stats: Aimee Picchi Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Ms. Picchi is a part of CBS MoneyWatch.


Harvard noted that its endowment only returned 2.9% in fiscal year 2023 — far below its goal of 8%. It's endowment has fallen in the past two years. But donations provided the university with 45% of its revenue through gifts and endowment income, signaling the importance of financial contributions from wealthy alumni.

W&M's figures, at the time of the list, was $1.3 billion, reportedly at $1.4 billion, in 2023.
We rank 7th among Virginia Universities, behind UVA (10B), Richmond (2.5B), VCU (2.0B), Virginia Tech (1.7B), Washington & Lee (1.7B) and Liberty (1.5B).

We still have a ways to go.

These figures are disgusting. Universities are hoarding all this money, letting it grow tax free. Meanwhile, tuition costs keep soaring. The students these universities graduate often are working jobs that either don't or shouldn't require a college degree and are drowning in debt. Shame.

They are some absurd numbers. I will give Harvard, and a couple of the other Iveys, credit. If your parents make less than $90,000 a year, you, basically, are eligible for enough grants, that you go to school there for free.

(12-16-2023 10:45 AM)billymac Wrote:  They are some absurd numbers. I will give Harvard, and a couple of the other Iveys, credit. If your parents make less than $90,000 a year, you, basically, are eligible for enough grants, that you go to school there for free.

Meanwhile, at W&M, the average student loan debt at graduation is just over $27,000. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wil...-mary-3705
There is no excuse for the W&M administration to hoard over a $1 billion endowment while letting students suffer under that kind of debt.

(12-17-2023 04:14 PM)TribeFan1983 Wrote:  

(12-16-2023 10:45 AM)billymac Wrote:  They are some absurd numbers. I will give Harvard, and a couple of the other Iveys, credit. If your parents make less than $90,000 a year, you, basically, are eligible for enough grants, that you go to school there for free.

Meanwhile, at W&M, the average student loan debt at graduation is just over $27,000. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wil...-mary-3705
There is no excuse for the W&M administration to hoard over a $1 billion endowment while letting students suffer under that kind of debt.

I believe that every Virginia student who is Pell Grant eligible gets free tuition at W&M, or at least something like that was announced at Homecoming.

(12-17-2023 04:33 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  

(12-17-2023 04:14 PM)TribeFan1983 Wrote:  

(12-16-2023 10:45 AM)billymac Wrote:  They are some absurd numbers. I will give Harvard, and a couple of the other Iveys, credit. If your parents make less than $90,000 a year, you, basically, are eligible for enough grants, that you go to school there for free.

Meanwhile, at W&M, the average student loan debt at graduation is just over $27,000. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wil...-mary-3705
There is no excuse for the W&M administration to hoard over a $1 billion endowment while letting students suffer under that kind of debt.

I believe that every Virginia student who is Pell Grant eligible gets free tuition at W&M, or at least something like that was announced at Homecoming.

Yep
https://news.wm.edu/2022/09/23/wm-commit...ecipients/

If I were king of the USA, I would mandate that every college with over a $1 billion endowment refund the interest on the endowment to the graduating students each year. You could base this on a sliding scale, depending on in-state vs out of state, family income and other factors. W&M has approximately 6,700 undergrads. Lets say 1,600 graduate each year. At 6% interest, our $1.4 billion endowment yields $84 million. That figure divided by the number of graduating students yields a $52,500 rebate per person at graduation. The total annual direct cost for an out of state student is about $65,000. That means W&M still makes ($65,000 x 4 -$52,500 =) $207,500 on each student. This will never happen, of course. There are too many hedge fund managers making too much money on these endowments.