Elite universities with billion-dollar endowments operate tax-free property empires while students face soaring tuition debt. These institutions often own vast real estate in college towns, evading property taxes and leaving communities to subsidize their expansions. Critics argue that universities should be taxed like corporations, given their financial power and real estate holdings.
As of 2024, over 100 U.S. colleges and universities have endowments exceeding $1 billion, with Harvard alone sitting on a pile of over $50 billion. These institutions are gobbling up massive swaths of land across America, from Boston to New York and beyond, often under the guise of