Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman has been speaking out with criticism about what’s going on at his alma mater, Harvard University.
After a group of 31 Harvard students I signed the letter Denouncing Israel as “completely responsible” for Hamas’ wild slaughter of innocent Israelis, Ackman called on Harvard to release all the names of the students to ensure that young Hamas supporters are not hired by the Wall Street company.
Last week, President Trump announced he would steal tax-free status for the left and right universities after schools refused to comply with five important requests from his administration. Instead, Harvard filed a lawsuit.
“We’re going to take Harvard’s tax-free status,” Trump wrote about the true society. “That’s what they deserve!”
Harvard’s tax-free status played a key role in 2024 in winning the nation’s largest university fund, with around $53 billion.
Ackman joined the CBNC to discuss the latest moves for the university to sue the Trump administration.
Joe Kernen of Squakbox said, “Bill, you’re a graduate. Harvard is what to do where you say, okay, what should the university do at this point to get back to your good bounty?”
“It’s true. You should say that it’s right, or that I should say. You should receive a letter from the administration and write, “We’ve done nothing. In fact, we’re going to sue you.” Well, that’s what Harvard did. “Ackman said.
“Taxpayer money coming to Harvard, it’s a privilege. It’s not a right. Taxpayer money goes to the institution. Institutions can’t have a lot of administrative blows, waste, bureaucracy. We’ll eliminate that. We’ll hire Alex partners. And we’re wasting taxpayer money.
“You can’t learn. You go to college and go to college to be exposed to a wide range of ideas. I think I’m probably watching Joe… you see a wide range of ideas. It’s not happening at Harvard. Free speech is not happening at Harvard.”
“You say the president is absolutely acknowledged the right fields and say, ‘Look, we’re going to fix those fields. We want to make a deal, Mr. President.” ”
“What did we see from Trump? He asked for the moon, shock, adoration. The same can be said in Harvard’s latest letter. You can argue that it certainly is full of several elements, but he wants to make a deal. Make a deal with the president.”
“By the way, I want my graduates to fix it. That’s Harvard’s greatest profit. And it’s about treating each shareholder as a trustee with tax money, and Harvard doesn’t do that. Harvard is not in good financial position. Real estate, venture capital seems to sell private shares compared to the price of my package.
“In my business, if I owned a slice of something, I sold a portion of it at a 30, 40% discount, and I have to speak out on my entire portfolio.
“The second thing is that no one talks about the fact that Harvard currently has $8 billion in debt. I’ve read a recent perspective on the bond issue. You have 53 billion excess assets.
“My experience is a nonprofit that borrows money. It doesn’t work. And you have. They rely on money every year from the US government, every year from donations. Donations have to believe they are meaningfully diminished.
“Is it fair or unfair to try and take away your tax-free status?” asked Kernan.
“I think that’s fair,” Ackman replied.
“Again, Harvard has become a political advocacy organization for one party over time. When universities start to become political advocacy organizations from universities to political advocacy organizations, it doesn’t deserve a non-profit status.”
“Harvard should not be a place where students learn and the best research is being done. It should not be a place where proterrorist organizations are allowed on campus and only certain types of thought and speech on campus. It is a political advocacy organization. It is not a university.”
“I don’t think Harvard will end up in a place where he loses his tax-free status. I want to succeed at Harvard. That was very important to me over time. But really, it has become a very bad place. And Alan Gerber is a good president, but he doesn’t control…”
“The mismanagement here is… Penny Pretzker, the notion that if this is another company, she is still leading the charges here in terms of how Harvard managed everything from Covid.
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In 2024, Ackman asked Democrat Mega Donner Penny Pretzker to resign as Harvard’s board chair.
