The Rich Get Richer

Last week Harvard announced its largest donation ever, $150 million.  Of that, $140 million will go to scholarships.

The donor is Kenneth C. Griffin, the founder of the Citadel investment fund.  His net worth has been estimated at $4.4 billion.  Griffin attended Harvard on scholarships and with family help.

A New York Times article reports that Griffin credits Lloyd Blankfein, another Harvard alum who now runs a little bank called Goldman Sachs, with encouraging a financial aid-oriented donation.

The article says Griffin believes Harvard set him "on a path that has made him a billionaire."  The article went on to say, "He admitted that having a diploma from the college opened doors that would otherwise be closed for a 21-year-old undergraduate."

It is a little surprising that even an enthusiastic alum would identify Harvard as a college whose scholarship budget needs topping up.  The same New York Times report notes that 60 percent of Harvard students already receive enough aid to reduce their costs to an average of $12,000 per year, less than in-state undergraduate costs at many public universities.  Harvard students from families with incomes under $60,000 pay nothing.  Both of them.

Harvard already has by far the largest endowment -- $33.2 billion in 2013 -- of all American colleges and universities.  (Yale ranked second at $20.8 billion.)  Harvard's recently-launched campaign to raise another $6.5 billion "was kicked off with $2.8 billion already in the bank," again according to the Times.

A four percent annual return on the current Harvard endowment could fund $50,000 scholarships annually to more than 26,000 undergraduates.  Harvard College's enrollment is about 6,700.