Harvard still richest college in U.S. with rising endowment: Report

Harvard University remained the richest college in the U.S. last year, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Commonfund Institute.

The Massachusetts-based private Ivy League research university saw its endowment rise to more than $49.5 billion in 2023.

The University of Texas System came in second, while Yale University remained in third place.

The report showed that endowments of 688 participating U.S. colleges, universities and affiliated foundations in the research withdrew $28.4 billion from their endowments during fiscal year 2023 from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

While 47.7% of that amount went to student financial aid, other spending was distributed to academic programs and included research at 17.5%, endowed faculty positions at 11.1%, operation and maintenance of campus facilities coming in at 7.4%, and all other purposes at 16.4%, it said.

"From the point of view of college and university chief business officers, the results of this year's endowment study are ideal—a sound rate of return demonstrating good fiscal stewardship leading to additional resources available to the students, faculty, and programs that are our core mission," NACUBO President and CEO Kara D. Freeman said in a statement.

The nearly 700 institutions represented $839.1 billion in endowment assets. While the median endowment was $209.1 million -- nearly one-third of participants in the study had endowments that were $100 million or less.

"Longer-term returns are of paramount importance to the financial health and sustainability of perpetual institutions such as colleges and universities," said George Suttles, executive director of the Commonfund Institute. "Endowments generally pursue long-term returns sufficient to fund their annual effective spending rate, keep pace with inflation, pay investment management costs and retain an increment for future endowment growth."