endowment

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress passed in July, drastically raised the tax rate on the income that university endowments earn on their portfolios—from 1.4% to as high as 8%.

One commands that universities with endowments of more than $2 million per undergraduate “will not charge tuition for admitted students pursuing hard science programs,” although schools can still make rich kids pay.

To the amusement of its directors, the booming stock market of the 1920s kept adding to its assets; after the Wall Street crash in 1929, the fund gradually depleted its endowment and closed in 1941.

Just this year, London's National Gallery secured unprecedented private funding for its expansion following a fundraising campaign, while the Tate launched an endowment fund to secure its "long-term future".

By law, the university can’t rely on the endowment to meet all its cash needs as more than 80% of its funds are restricted by donors.