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If billionaires don't step up, Harvard will soon be down to its last $30 billion.

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by YankeeFan, Jun 5, 2015.

  1. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Infamous hedge fund manager John Paulson -- he famously made billions shorting subprime mortgages -- gives $400,000,000 to Harvard, and people are freaking out!

    Hedge fund manager John Paulson had $400 million to put toward a philanthropic endeavor. The only question was where to donate it.

    His final decision: a small school in Cambridge called Harvard University. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

    Harvard was elated at the gift, the largest in university history. Paulson, a Harvard Business School alumnus, said in the announcement Wednesday that there was no cause more important.

    But New Yorker writer and “Tipping Point” author Malcolm Gladwell could think of a few.


    Malcolm Gladwell: ‘If billionaires don’t step up, Harvard will soon be down to its last $30 billion’ - The Washington Post


    Business Insider found some defenders:

    Defense of John Paulson Harvard donation - Business Insider
     
  2. Stoney

    Stoney Well-Known Member

    Gladwell has a point. Might seem petty to knock someone for making a $400 million gift, but jesus christ, you're not exactly alleviating the world's misery when your choice of recipient is the obscenely rich school that already enjoys an endowment greater than the GDP of nearly 100 countries.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2015
  3. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Donations like Paulson's aren't philanthropic gifts. They're dick measurements.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    People freak out at these schools about the idea of other such schools supplanting them in the public esteem. I imagine that at Harvard, this fear has to be particularly accute.
     
  5. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Doesn't he realize there are football teams in Alabama that can use that money?
     
  6. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    John Paulson doesn't have to justify what he chooses to do with his money to Malcom Gladwell or anyone else. Malcom Gladwell should worry about living his own life.
     
    YankeeFan and doctorquant like this.
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Did you see Mark Buehrle pitched a shutout this week?
     
  8. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    This. What a pointless exercise to criticize charitable contributions. By the tone of this thread, anyone on this board who gives money to their alma mater should be excoriated for not giving that money to Unicef instead.
     
  9. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    I once did some tax work on one small slice of the Harvard endowment (they own timber). The numbers are mind-boggling.
     
  10. britwrit

    britwrit Well-Known Member

    I presume Paulson is also getting a massive tax break with this donation.

    You can certainly argue that this is legitimate but you also can't pretend this isn't an issue for public debate.
     
  11. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Harvard ain't played nobody like Bama did, PAWWWWWWL!
     
    Big Circus likes this.
  12. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    Harvard's vice-provost for finance looks over at Alabama's and says, "Scoreboard, bitch!"
     
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