According to the U.S. News & World Report list of top American universities, Indiana University is #89 on the list. The university has a total of nine campuses that stretch out to be 3,640 acres throughout the state of Indiana.
The main campus, IU–Bloomington consists of multiple top-ranking programs such as the Jacobs School of Music, and the Kelley School of Business. The program got its name from a 1997 donation of $23 million by Steak n’ Shake C.E.O, E.W. Kelley.
University of Richmond: $2.477 Billion
The Baptist school originally called Dunlora Academy, University of Richmond closed down during the Civil War. In 1866, due to some generous donations, the school was reopened. Another sum was donated of $5,000 was donated by tobacconist James Thomas, Jr. In 1969.
The University of Richmond saw another generous donation of $50 million from millionaire E. Claiborne Robins, a renowned millionaire who made his fortune in pharmaceuticals. It didn't end there. Years later, the Robins family gave $175 million towards the establishment of the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business.
Boston College: $2.397 Billion
Boston College is a fastly become one of the wealthiest colleges in America due to its recent donations. Their program that specializes in academic leadership was almost singlehandedly created by Peter Lynch, owner of the Fidelity Management and Research Company (and Boston grad), and his $20 million dollar donation.
In 2012 realty investor and alumnus Patrick Cadigan gave $15 million to the college. The institution is especially recognized for its Connell School of Nursing, Carroll School of Management, and Lynch School of Education.
Carnegie Mellon University: $2.377 Billion
In the age of the post–Civil War industrial era, like many wealthy people, Andrew Carnegie sought to create an institution as part of a philanthropic effort. And thus the institution, Carnegie Technical School, was created. In 1965 the schools partnered with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. The enthusiastic research culture of both schools was a success and the university is now ranked the 25th best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Government agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense supply up to about half of the annual budget to the university. Of course, a big source of wealth comes from private donors who embrace the schools' work. The largest donation ever made was when William S. Dietrich gave $265 million in 2011.
Amherst College: $2.273 Billion
At one point in time, Williams College (ranked at #36 on the list of American universities.) was about to go under. It was Amherst College that was thought to take over its place. Luckily both colleges remained successful. A large part of Amherst's success is due to the fact that 56.4 percent of Amherst graduates give back to the school in any way the can.
In 2013, an in–house fundraising campaign made over $502 million over a five year period. During that period, two anonymous donations were made, one of $100 million and $25 million.