Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin has donated $300 million to Harvard University, the school announced today. But there are questions as to the rationale behind the Citadel CEO’s generous donation to his alma mater.
Many have taken to Twitter (TWTR) to talk about Griffin’s donation as a way for the multi billionaire to wield more power and influence.
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Harvard’s Neiman Lab founder Joshua Benton responded to the announcement by referencing a 2012 interview with the Chicago Tribune where the multi billionaire said that the wealthy have “insufficient influence” on the political process. Griffin, who’s hedge fund is coming off a massive year of earnings, also said he believes in unlimited donations to political campaigns, but did point out the importance of transparency on the purpose of these donations.
Griffin, who has already donated $60 million to the GOP in this election cycle, has expressed support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential seat.
There has been some support for Griffin as well with some pointing out how Griffin’s donations have contributed to more jobs and a stronger economy.
Together with the donation announcement, Harvard also said it would be renaming its Graduate School of Arts and Science after Griffin. The hedge fund executive has now donated over half a billion dollars to the Ivy League institution, who had already named its Financial Aid Office after him following a 2014 donation worth $150 million.
While donating to universities is not a new practice among the wealthy, there’s also been criticism online regarding the rationale of donating to Harvard. According to its university website, Harvard has used over $2.5 billion in financial aid since 2004. However, this is around just 5% of its total endowment of over $50 billion, the largest of all universities in the country.
