College and University Endowments
Updated August 5, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
Sitting on a mountain of money
An endowment in a type of trust or fund set aside for a particular purpose. In the case of colleges, the endowment is a fund (which perpetuates and grows over time) meant to keep the school financially sound. In the case of top universities, these endowments can be genuinely massive.
Which institutions of higher learning have the largest endowments? Find the top ten below.
| Rank | Institution | Endowment1 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) | $39.428 |
| 2. | Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) | $30.314 |
| 3. | Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.) | $27.700 |
| 4. | Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.) | $26.116 |
| 5. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.) | $17.569 |
| 6. | University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Penn.) | $14.650 |
| 7. | University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.) | $11.268 |
| 8. | Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) | $11.092 |
| 9. | Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) | $10.951 |
| 10. | Duke University (Durham, N.C.) | $8.600 |
1. Size of endowment in 2019 in billions.
2. Includes foundations.
Source: National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute, 2019. Web: nacubo.org/ .
| Higher Education |
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