Harvard’s Endowment Is $53.2 Billion. What Should It Be For?

The Trump administration’s war on elite universities has forced them to consider whether it’s ever worth dipping into the trust.Among Harvard University’s many distinctions remains the fact it is the oldest continuing corporation in the Western Hemisphere. The designation originates in a charter, authorizing a board of officers to oversee the college’s finances, property and receipt of gifts. Nearing his death in 1638, John Harvard, a Puritan minister, left half his estate to the institution that would soon bear his name. Five years later came a contribution of 100 pounds from Ann Radcliffe to underwrite Harvard’s first scholarships. The university’s...