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Harvard, Yale $18B Poorer as Endowments Drop 30%

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

(Newser) – Harvard and Yale remain the richest schools in the US, but both are getting a lesson in economics. The endowments of the Ivy Leaguer shrank by about 30% over the last year thanks to risky investments, reports Bloomberg. Harvard's fell $11 billion to $26 billion and Yale's dropped $7 billion to $16 billion. Both had moved aggressively into private equity and hedge funds over the past decade, and are now retooling strategies.

“We expect a prolonged period of instability and slower growth in some markets,” wrote Harvard's endowment chief. “We can do and are doing more to manage the risks we face, given the lessons of the past year.”

Harvard graduates in 2007. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

Ivy League Offers False Hope to Kids It Won't Accept

Elite universities profit from acting interested in unqualified students

Post-Harvard Bummer: You Have to Clean Your Own Toilet

Oh, yeah, and actually show up for work

Tiger Mom's Kid Gets Into Harvard

...and Yale

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Ivy League • Harvard • colleges and universities • endowment • Yale

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

Ivy League Offers False Hope to Kids It Won't Accept

Elite universities profit from acting interested in unqualified students

Post-Harvard Bummer: You Have to Clean Your Own Toilet

Oh, yeah, and actually show up for work

Tiger Mom's Kid Gets Into Harvard

...and Yale

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

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Newser By Users

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