This year, Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, saw a $2.1 billion increase in their endowment, which is now estimated at around $25.9 billion in total. As a private Ivy League research school, one of the best, in fact, they also enjoy an annual research budget of over $300 million.
The prestigious university was founded in the 1740s and originated as the College of New Jersey. It wasn’t until 1896 it was renamed and moved to its current location. As of this year, there have been over 65 Nobel laureates associated with the school’s alumni list, as well as numerous Supreme Court justices and a few former U.S Presidents. The most popular majors at Princeton include Engineering, Biomedical, and Biological Sciences.
University of Texas: $30 Billion
Although the first two contenders on this list were private Ivy League institutions, this public school is right up there with them. The University of Texas is valued at over $30 billion and has eight schools spread throughout the area. UT has been referred to as a Public Ivy, meaning it has Ivy League-like qualities even though it’s technically a public school.
Within their eight schools are a total of seventeen libraries and seven museums. Notable alumni from UT (also known as Texas Exes,) include Matthew McConaughey and several Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners. They lead the charge in medical research and boast multiple medical and cancer research centers. Coming up: see which other Texas university made the list of wealthiest in the world!
Stanford University: $27.7 Billion
Stanford is a private university in Stanford, California. Its endowment is over $27 billion, and it’s one of the hardest schools to get into in the country, much like the others on this list. The university was named after its founder, Leland Stanford, governor of California around the late 1880’s, and their late son, who passed away from typhoid fever in his teens.
Today, it’s one of the most revered schools in the world. It’s known for being one of the leading research schools, but also for its prime location in the Bay Area of sunny California. They enjoy a research budget of over $1.5 billion, and seven schools, including schools for business, law, and medicine. The average alumni salary of a Stanford graduate is well over $100,000, which makes up for the expensive price tag on their education. PayPal founder Elon Musk is one of the university’s most notable alumni.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $17.7 Billion
This private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has quite the reputation for providing a top-notch education that’s produced nearly 100 Nobel prize winners. This past year, they enrolled just over 4,600 undergraduates and over 6,900 graduates. With an acceptance rate of just 8%, MIT can be an incredibly tough school to get into come application time. In fact, the average G.P.A in this prestigious university as a whopping 4.17 (yes, on a 4.0 scale.)
The university enjoys regular donations in the hundreds of millions range, and they have a current endowment of over $17.5 billion. Some of MIT’s most notable graduates include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who graduated with a degree in astronautics in the 1960s, and Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Sony’s International Production President, Andrea Wong, earned her bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the university, as well. Coming up: the world’s oldest university also happens to be one of its wealthiest!
University of Notre Dame: $13.1 Billion
Notre Dame, a private Catholic university in Indiana, is perhaps most well-known for its sports teams, the Fighting Irish. Their football notoriety began in the 20th century, thanks to coach Knute Rockne. But their athletics aren’t the only thing that’s appealing about the school, which was established in 1842.
A staff of over 1,300 oversees the student body, which totals about 12,000 annually. They have an incredibly strong network of over 130,000 alumni, some of which include Regis Philbin and astronaut Kevin Ford. Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor, also attended, earning her Master’s in Government and International Studies in 1975. The university has an endowment of just over $13 billion and a budget of nearly $1.3 billion.