Harvard coins it in last school year

New York – Harvard University’s endowment shot up 27% in a year, according to its annual financial report, making it more than ever the world’s richest university.

Such endowments, common in US higher education, are funded largely by private donations. Most are subject to restrictions on what the money can be used for, such as specific projects or areas of study.

Only five to 5.5% of the endowment at Harvard, pictured, is used to fund the actual running of the university. That was $2 billion (about R29.4 billion) in the 2020-21 school year.

Already the largest in the world, Harvard’s endowment rose to $53.2 billion as of the end of June, the end of the fiscal year.

That amount of money is equivalent to the reserves of the central banks of South Africa or the Netherlands.

Cashing in on buoyant markets, Harvard earned 33.6% on its investments in the year ending in June.

In the 2020-21 school year, it also received $465 million in donations to the endowment.

In a ranking established by US News and World Report magazine, last year Harvard was well ahead of second-placed Yale, where endowments totalled $31.1 billion. –