Harvard Sits on $7 Million Per Student, Still Pulls in $550 Million Annually from Feds

Harvard University, sitting atop a jaw-dropping $53.2 billion endowment—yes, that’s billion with a 'B'—has tucked away more than $7 million per undergraduate student, according to a recent OpenTheBooks report. Yet, the Ivy League titan continues to receive a cool $550 million in federal funding every year. Clearly, when it rains, it pours in Cambridge.

The financial watchdog OpenTheBooks dug into federal spending records and discovered that since 2017, Harvard has raked in at least $4.4 billion from the government through grants and contracts. Incredibly, the university’s haul from Uncle Sam often outpaces what it collects from tuition, room, and board combined. Who knew higher education could be this lucrative?

Amidst a fiery legal showdown, Harvard is suing the Trump administration after the White House froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in government contracts, citing Harvard’s refusal to comply with executive orders on issues like antisemitism, diversity initiatives, and viewpoint diversity. There’s even talk from the administration about stripping the university’s tax-exempt status if it doesn’t toe the line. Nothing like a federal funding freeze to spice up campus politics.

Harvard insists that the administration’s demands encroach on academic freedom, arguing in court that the government is overreaching and threatening the university’s right to teach and research independently. So, the standoff over higher education autonomy is officially on.

But that’s not the end of Harvard’s federal drama. The Trump administration has accused the university of failing to report significant foreign donations, opening up a new investigation. OpenTheBooks found that since 2017, Harvard has accepted at least $1.1 billion from international donors, with England and China each contributing over $100 million in the past eight years. Federal law requires all universities to report any foreign payments exceeding $250,000—a threshold Harvard has blown past like it’s pocket change.

OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart commented that while American universities remain the envy of the world, Harvard could set the tone by embracing open debate and academic freedom, and perhaps explaining why millions are pouring in from abroad—including places like China and possible Iranian proxies. Hart also questioned the use of tax dollars for what he calls "far-Left research and race-based identity politics."

Harvard, for now, isn’t talking about any of this publicly. But with billions at stake—and a government eager to call the shots—this Ivy League battle is far from over. Honestly, if Harvard’s endowment gets any bigger, it’ll need its own zip code.