Major U.S. university endowments posted their strongest returns in five years for the fiscal year that ended June 30. [3, 20] Venture capital investments in private technology companies, including SpaceX and AI startups, drove much of the gains. [3, 20]
The median return for college and university endowments was 16.1%, as early private-market investments delivered significant gains. [3]
The University of North Carolina system’s endowment gained 37.8%. [3, 5] About half of that return came from its long-held stake in SpaceX. [3, 5]
Washington University in St. Louis reported a 37.3% gain. [3, 23]
Harvard University’s endowment returned 27.1%. [3, 4, 6] Its value grew to nearly $68 billion. [3, 4, 6] Harvard’s $2.2 billion stake in SpaceX and other venture capital successes boosted its returns. [3, 4, 6]