How much was donated to Harvard, the world’s richest university, in 2016?

New York — Harvard University raised $1.2bn from donations, a record for the world’s richest college. The haul was erased by $2bn in investment losses and spending. Harvard’s take was the most by any US university as colleges collected an unprecedented $41bn in financial 2016, the New York-based Council for Aid to Education, which tracks university giving, said in a survey released on Tuesday. Stanford University was ranked number 2, with $951m, marking only the second time in 12 years that Stanford failed to outpace Harvard in fundraising. The total was up almost 2% from the previous year. The top 20 universities accounted for 27% of all donations, once again concentrating the wealth among the richest schools. The same 20 institutions raised about 2% less than last year. Wealthy donors Fundraising totals show how appeals by the richest colleges to wealthy donors can help offset weak endowment returns. US college endowments declined 1.9% on average, according to an industry survey. ...