Taxpayers Shoveled Nearly $700 Million Into Harvard’s Coffers In 2023

Harvard University received hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers in fiscal year 2023, despite boasting the nation’s largest endowment.

In FY 2023, the federal government gave $676 million to the university for research, which is an increase of $34 million from FY 2022, when it received $642.1 million, according to the university’s financial statements. While receiving huge grants from the federal government, Harvard boasts the largest endowment of any higher education institution in the U.S. at $50.9 billion as of FY 2023, which is up from $39.2 billion in 2018.

In FY 2023, Harvard enrolled 25,266 students in all 12 of its schools, only gleaning $1.3 billion in the form of tuition despite having $5.9 billion in expenses, according to the university’s financial statements. The university claims that 6% of student financial aid comes from federal government aid initiatives and other outside sponsors, while the other 94% comes from university sources.

Harvard also receives government support in the form of tax exemptions, like most colleges and universities, due to its status as a 501(c)(3) organization.

As a result of its tax status, the institution was able to pull $2.46 billion from its endowment in the last year, which would normally be taxed at 37% but was instead taxed at just 1.4%, according to the New York Post. It also pays no taxes on capital gains, interest on bonds, corporation revenue, or dividend income, which is normally taxed from 15% to 37%.

The institution has faced controversy in recent months, starting with its response to the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that began on Oct. 7, prompting Harvard students from 30 different campus organizations to release an open letter on Oct. 8 in support of Palestine. Harvard President Claudine Gay announced in November a plan to combat antisemitism on campus after her initial statement was criticized.

Gay resigned as Harvard’s president on Tuesday after allegations of plagiarism, making her tenure the shortest in the institution’s history, lasting six months and two days. Gay cited “racial animus” as being behind criticism of her performance and qualifications, despite several plagiarism allegations that resulted in her submitting several corrections to her academic work.

Following the university’s response to rising antisemitism on campus, which some see as lackluster, several billionaire donors have announced they are pausing or stopping donations.

The school has also faced continued criticism for its long-standing support of DEI, which some criticize as racist due to the preferences given to students of color as well as its tendency to alienate conservative students. In June, Harvard was involved in one of two cases taken up by the Supreme Court that found that racial prejudice in the admissions process in higher education was not compatible with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Harvard and the White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.