The 20 wealthiest private universities and colleges in America

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The 20 wealthiest private universities and colleges in America

columbia university

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Columbia University's endowment had assets worth about $9 billion.

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  • America's top private universities are fantastically wealthy.
  • Using data from the Department of Education, we found the 20 private colleges and universities with the highest-valued endowments in 2017, the most recent period for which data is available.
  • Harvard University's endowment had assets worth about $35.7 billion, landing it the top spot on the list.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In addition to being world-class research and educational institutions, America's top private universities are also fantastically wealthy.

The Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System assembles statistics on thousands of institutions of higher learning in the US. One of the data points published is the value of assets in private university endowments.

As described by Investopedia, endowments are made up of "money or other financial assets that are donated to universities or colleges" that is then invested in order to build up long-term financial reserves and fund ongoing scholarships, research, and other activities.

As the Investopedia article notes, even though many university endowments are under strict guidelines on what percentage of the funds can be spent in any year, some of the wealthier schools have such highly valued endowments that a small share "can equal a large sum of money."

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Even with supplemental funding from their massive endowments, sticker-price tuition at many elite colleges and universities remains very high and continues to grow. Despite rising costs, however, a recent New York Fed study pointed out that, on average, a college degree is still a solid investment with a good average long-run rate of return.

Here are the 20 private nonprofit universities and colleges with the biggest endowments, as measured by total value of assets at the start of the 2017 fiscal year, the most recent period for which data is available, along with their location and the year they were founded, according to the schools' websites:

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20. Johns Hopkins University's endowment had assets worth about $3.3 billion.

20. Johns Hopkins University's endowment had assets worth about $3.3 billion.

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Year established: 1876

19. New York University's endowment had assets worth about $3.6 billion.

19. New York University's endowment had assets worth about $3.6 billion.

Location: New York City, New York

Year established: 1831

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18. Vanderbilt University's endowment had assets worth about $3.8 billion.

18. Vanderbilt University's endowment had assets worth about $3.8 billion.

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Year established: 1873

17. Dartmouth College's endowment had assets worth about $4.5 billion.

17. Dartmouth College's endowment had assets worth about $4.5 billion.

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

Year established: 1769

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16. Cornell University's endowment had assets worth about $4.5 billion.

16. Cornell University's endowment had assets worth about $4.5 billion.

Location: Ithaca, New York

Year established: 1865

15. The University of Southern California's endowment had assets worth about $4.6 billion.

15. The University of Southern California's endowment had assets worth about $4.6 billion.

Location: Los Angeles, California

Year established: 1880

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14. Rice University's endowment had assets worth about $5.4 billion.

14. Rice University's endowment had assets worth about $5.4 billion.

Location: Houston, Texas

Year established: 1912

13. The University of Chicago's endowment had assets worth about $6.1 billion.

13. The University of Chicago's endowment had assets worth about $6.1 billion.

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Year established: 1890

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12. Washington University's endowment had assets worth about $6.5 billion.

12. Washington University's endowment had assets worth about $6.5 billion.

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Year established: 1853

11. Duke University's endowment had assets worth about $6.8 billion.

11. Duke University's endowment had assets worth about $6.8 billion.

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Year established: 1838

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10. Emory University's endowment had assets worth about $6.9 billion.

10. Emory University's endowment had assets worth about $6.9 billion.

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Year established: 1836

9. Northwestern University's endowment had assets worth about $7.5 billion.

9. Northwestern University's endowment had assets worth about $7.5 billion.

Location: Evanston, Illinois

Year established: 1850

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8. Notre Dame's endowment had assets worth about $8.7 billion.

8. Notre Dame's endowment had assets worth about $8.7 billion.

Location: Notre Dame, Indiana

Year established: 1842

7. Columbia University's endowment had assets worth about $9.0 billion.

7. Columbia University's endowment had assets worth about $9.0 billion.

Location: New York City, New York

Year established: 1754

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6. The University of Pennsylvania's endowment had assets worth about $10.7 billion.

6. The University of Pennsylvania's endowment had assets worth about $10.7 billion.

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Year established: 1740

5. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's endowment had assets worth about $13.2 billion.

5. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's endowment had assets worth about $13.2 billion.

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Year established: 1861

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4. Princeton University's endowment had assets worth about $21.7 billion.

4. Princeton University's endowment had assets worth about $21.7 billion.

Location: Princeton, New Jersey

Year established: 1746

3. Stanford University's endowment had assets worth about $22.4 billion.

3. Stanford University's endowment had assets worth about $22.4 billion.

Location: Stanford, California

Year established: 1885

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2. Yale University's endowment had assets worth about $25.4 billion.

2. Yale University's endowment had assets worth about $25.4 billion.

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Year established: 1701

1. Harvard University's endowment had assets worth about $35.7 billion.

1. Harvard University's endowment had assets worth about $35.7 billion.

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Year established: 1636

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