Elite universities across the U.S. received over $33 billion in grants and contracts from the federal government since 2018, according to OpenTheBooks.
Ten elite universities with large endowments have taken billions of federal tax dollars, according to a new report from OpenTheBooks. The collective endowments of these universities grew from $172.2 billion in 2018 to $237 billion by the end of 2022, and the endowments reaped a collective $12 billion in special tax treatment benefits during that time frame. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Even Community Colleges Are Going All-In On Diversity, Equity And Inclusion, Report Finds)
“With the U.S. taxpayer subsidies, tax-breaks and federal payments into these ten elite universities pushing $7 billion per year, it’s time to revisit the definition of a public charity. Collectively, these schools have gamed the tax code for vast institutional enrichment,” Adam Andrzejewski, CEO and founder of OpenTheBooks, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 14: Students participate in a protest in support of Palestine and for free speech at Columbia University campus on November 14, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University and Harvard University took nearly $7 billion, $5.9 billion, $3.7 billion, $3.5 billion, $3.3 billion in federal grants and contracts from 2018 to 2022, respectively, according to OpenTheBooks. Princeton University, Brown University and Dartmouth College took nearly $1.8 billion, $1.2 billion, and $775 million, respectively.
Northwestern University and Cornell University took nearly $3 billion, according to the report.
“These institutions are now more federal contractor than educator — collecting more on government contracts and grants than undergraduate student tuition,” Andrzejewski told the DCNF.
Some of these elite colleges also took COVID-19 relief funds. Five of the elite schools, UPenn, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth and Brown, took $220.6 million from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, according to OpenTheBooks.
Several of the colleges receiving taxpayer funds experienced anti-Israel activities on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that killed over 1,400 people. At Stanford, students are conducting a pro-Palestinian sit-in protest and demanding the administration take actions such as condemning Israel.
More than 30 student organizations at Harvard signed a letter blaming Israel for the attacks.
Stanford, Columbia, UPenn, Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, Cornell, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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