Who Owns Harvard University?
Who owns Harvard University, and how is it so well managed? Is it traded on the stock market, and if so, what is the price of its shares in the present-day economy? These questions and other similar ones are bound to pop into your mind if you are thinking about either getting admission in Harvard or looking to invest in successful business entities.
But whatever the case might be, I have taken it upon myself to perform thorough research into this matter and explain the plain facts to you. I would highly recommend you all read this article to the very end because each word is essential for you to get the complete picture I am about to try to show you. So, with that being said, let’s get down to the details!
I know it might sound unbelievable or even shocking to most of you, but the simple fact is that nobody owns Harvard University; it is not a corporation or a publicly listed entity. It is merely an NPO (not-for-profit organization). It means that Harvard is not listed on the stock exchange and has no shareholders.
It does not have any shares, and nobody has any kind of ownership of Harvard. Even with its huge endowment fund and vast campuses all across the United States of America, it serves the purpose of serving and benefiting humanity.
All the money for its normal operations comes from the endowment fund. Now, you must be wondering where the money in the endowment fund comes from. Am I right? So, for the answer, you must refer to the next section of this article.
Harvard’s Endowment Fund
Harvard supposedly has a huge endowment fund of $50 billion. How is it possible that a not-for-profit organization happens to have an endowment fund of this large sum? The answer is simple: the endowment fund is funded by the donations collected from successful alums and some of the wealthiest people in The United States of America.
Some of these donors include former presidents of America as well as some prominent business figures. The interesting fact is that the students of Harvard who go off to build successful careers in their respective fields also give back to the school by funding the endowment fund.
This is the reason why the amount in this fund keeps increasing steadily even after huge expenses and innumerable scholarships that are paid out of it every year. It is also through this endowment fund that Harvard pays to build new campuses across the States.
What Is Harvard Corporation?
The name Harvard Corporation does not pertain to an entity or a company. In fact, it is a more sophisticated name for the board of trustees/ the presidents and fellows of Harvard School. These are the people who manage the school’s activities, including the payments and records of the endowment funds.
These people may be the alumni of Harvard or the donors as far as my research could conclude. However, these people are the managers of the school and do everything down to making budgets and allocating resources. These take all the major decisions such as handing out scholarships, shortlisting the list of candidates for admissions, hiring, training, and firing of staff, as well as keeping the school afloat.
So, I guess you all have a pretty fair idea about the ownership and internal operations of the renowned Harvard University. To sum things up, I would like to quickly revise what I explained in the above article so that the essential points will stick with you when you leave this page. So, for starters, Harvard is not a publicly listed entity. It does not have any shares traded on any stock exchange whatsoever.
Secondly, it is a Non-profit (NPO) Organization that funds its operations from its endowment fund. Thirdly, the endowment fund is financed by generous donations collected from the school’s successful alumni and other business personalities. Finally, the activities of the school are managed by the board of trustees and presidents, who are collectively known as the ‘Harvard Corporation.’