Earlier this year, billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin told a conference audience in Miami what he thought of university students today. “Whiny sno

The rise of the mega-donor

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2024-10-31 21:00:03

Earlier this year, billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin told a conference audience in Miami what he thought of university students today. “Whiny snowflakes,” he said.

“I’m not interested in supporting the institution,” he said, until it resumed “its role educating young American men and women to be leaders and problem solvers.”

As state and federal funding shrinks and schools depend more heavily on private donations, colleges are navigating an erupting tension between upholding principles of academia and making their billionaire donors happy.

Israel’s invasion of Gaza last October brought to the surface a tension that had been roiling behind closed doors for years.

Protests on campuses across the country led to billionaire donors declaring they’d pull their support from schools. (Ty O’Neil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Across the country, students on elite campuses protested, urging their administrations to condemn what they called a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.