Bill Ackman Sides With Trump in Battle With Harvard, Calls for New Leadership
“Harvard became, over time, a political advocacy organization for one party. When a university goes from being a university to affecting, you know, becoming a political advocacy organization, it doesn’t deserve nonprofit status.”
Investor and business leader Bill Ackman appeared on CNBC this week and offered his thoughts about the ongoing struggle between President Trump and Harvard. Ackman sides with Trump, basically saying that the school has lost its way. He cites the anti-Israel protests and suggests that the school has become a political advocacy group for just one party.
One of the most fascinating parts of the conversation is when Ackman discusses Harvard’s famously large endowment. It’s interesting to hear someone with Ackman’s expertise offer an analysis of the school’s portfolio and bluntly point out that it’s not liquid.
Partial transcript via Real Clear Politics:
KERNAN, CNBC: Not in a political angle, you’re an alumnus. What should Harvard do, to get back in your good graces, what does the university need to do at this point?
BILL ACKMAN: The wrong thing to do is to receive a letter from the administration and write back saying, “We’re doing nothing. In fact, we’re going to sue you.” That’s what Harvard did.
What Harvard should have done was to say, “You know, President Trump, you make some good points. Taxpayer money coming to Harvard—that’s a privilege, not a right. And if taxpayer money is going to an institution, the institution cannot have massive amounts of administrative bloat, waste, or bureaucracy. We’re going to eliminate it. We’re going to hire AlixPartners or a restructuring firm. We’re going to take a 3G zero-based budgeting approach to the way we run our administration. Inefficiency is causing harm, and we’re wasting taxpayer money.”…
And Harvard is not in a good financial position. This is something I think is not well appreciated. They nominally have a $53 billion endowment. I don’t believe the carrying values of their endowment. 80% of the assets are invested in real estate, private equity, and venture capital.
SORKIN, CNBC: It’s not liquid.
BILL ACKMAN: It’s not liquid. And they’re apparently selling a $1 billion slice of their private equity. Watch where that gets priced relative to the carrying value of the portfolio. My guess is it could be 30-40% below the current carrying value to get a bid. In my business, if I owned a slice of something, I sold a piece of it at a 30-40% discount, I’d have to remark my entire portfolio. So, one, the endowment, in my view, is massively overstated in terms of what it’s really worth.
The second thing is, no one talks about the fact that Harvard now has $8 billion of debt. I read the prospectus for the recent bond issue. They have $53 billion of overstated assets that are illiquid, and you have $7.9 billion of debt, which you owe. As a donor, do you want to give money to a nonprofit, an institution, which is going to go into the institution, going to go out the door to pay interest to bondholders? My experience is nonprofits that borrow money—it doesn’t end well…
SORKIN, CNBC: Fair or unfair to try to take the tax-exempt status away?
BILL ACKMAN: I think it’s fair. Again, Harvard became, over time, a political advocacy organization for one party. When a university goes from being a university to affecting, you know, becoming a political advocacy organization, it doesn’t deserve nonprofit status.
Watch the entire video:
In other Harvard-related news, Trump’s Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, recently appeared on the FOX Business Network and laid down the law for the school. This is fantastic. Watch:
Harvard should no longer seek grants from the federal government, since none will be provided.
Receiving taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right. pic.twitter.com/vE3va3Saw4
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) May 6, 2025
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
Defund harvard.
Is this the same Bill Ackman that recently contributed to Andrew Creepo Cuomo’s mayoral campaign?
He is a Democrat.
The piper is preparing his invoice. Payment will come due soon if Hahvahd doesn’t admit and correct its mistakes.
.
Harvard and other institutions will have to shed their ‘mind virus’ if they hope to survive. Trump was hauled in to court for ‘over stated assets’ and maybe Harvard should be next. Nobody knows what a carried asset may be priced at until it is put on sale in the free market. An asset owner may very well claim a high value on a portfolio, I usually did with my R/E, to obtain another loan(s). An owner sure does not want to show any decline in asset values as this makes the bank(s) nervous.
all universities throughout history have had a political agenda one way or another
the difference is….
when did it become the taxpayers responsibility to fund other peoples children?
thattt is the breakdown
sure, you’ve been told/mindset that THIS is the way and that any opposition is wrong ( to public financing ) but time has proven that the socialized/unionized public schools fail vs direct funding INVOLVEMENT of parents
now the government acts as both the parent and the teacher…except of course when they choose not to
This is going to require a lot of popcorn.
“The wrong thing to do is to receive a letter from the administration and write back saying, “We’re doing nothing. In fact, we’re going to sue you.”
Paging Governor Mills… Governor Janet Mills…
Piease pick up the Blue Clue Phone…
Harvard supports Jew hatred. So do most America haters. Trump doesn’t tolerate Jew hatred, and prefers not to fund it. The math is so simple.
Harvard and other similar indoctrination centers are incapable of initiating voluntary change because they have lost the capacity to admit to themselves that they have ever made any mistakes. This utter lack of self awareness is the result of replacing debate with dogma. Dogma must be defended above all else.
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