$5 Billion-Plus Endowment Club: 15 Richest Private Universities In America

Harvard University is by far the richest private university in the United States, with an endowment of around $35.7 billion, according to the most recent data available through U.S. News. It’s not a complete surprise!

Put in perspective, that means Harvard’s endowment dwarfs the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries such as Cyprus, Iceland, Malta, and Mauritius.

The $5 billion-plus endowment club:

these 15 richest institutions in the United States have endowments of at least $5 billion.

The top college endowments trailing Harvard are Yale University, at $25.4 billion; Stanford University, at $22.4 billion; and Princeton University, at $21.7 billion.

The 15 Private Universities In America With The Biggest Endowments:

1. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $35,665,743,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 20,324
2. Yale University (CT)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $25,413,149,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 12,458
3. Stanford University (CA)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $22,398,130,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 16,914
4. Princeton University (NJ)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $21,703,500,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 8,181
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $13,181,515,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 11,376

   

6. University of Pennsylvania
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $10,715,364,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 21,826
7. Columbia University (NY)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $9,041,027,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 25,084
8. University of Notre Dame (IN)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $8,748,266,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 12,393
9. Northwestern University (IL)
   Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $7,478,167,000
   Total enrollment (fall 2016): 21,208
10. Emory University (GA)
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $6,902,625,000
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 14,077
11. Duke University (NC)
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $6,839,780,000
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 15,928
12. Washington University in St. Louis
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $6,526,726,000
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 15,032
13. University of Chicago
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $6,121,266,491
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 13,322
14. Cornell University (NY)
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $5,757,722,296
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 22,319
15. Rice University (TX)
    Endowment (end of fiscal year 2016): $5,354,508,000
    Total enrollment (fall 2016): 6,855

    

The following universities are considered the 15 richest in the United States.
These are the 15 private universities with the biggest endowments at the end of the 2016 fiscal year.