FX.co ★ Top 5 universities to nurture billionaires

University of Pennsylvania

This university has launched the careers of 36 billionaires whose combined net worth is estimated at $367 billion. Among them are notable personalities such as Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Apollo co-founders Marc Rowan and Josh Harris. The University of Pennsylvania also played a significant role in the lives of the Estee Lauder heirs, including Leonard, William, Aerin, and Ronald Lauder, who studied there for over four decades. Leonard and Ronald Lauder established the Lauder Institute at the university, offering joint MBA and international research master's programs.

Stanford University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford University has educated 30 billionaires with a combined net worth of $90 billion. Notable alumni include Andy Fang and Stanley Tang, founders of the food delivery service DoorDash, as well as Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, creators of Snapchat. Among the graduates in banking and finance are Charles Schwab, Richard Fairbank, and Scott Krase. Jerry Yang, who completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at Stanford, founded Yahoo, interrupting his graduate studies. He is currently the chairman of the university's board of directors.

Harvard University

Harvard University is the alma mater of 28 billionaires with a combined net worth of $261 billion. Among its graduates are former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, and investor Ken Griffin. Additionally, Harvard educated, though not always graduated, some famous billionaires: Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Interestingly, Mark Zuckerberg later donated $519 million to his alma mater to establish the Kempner Institute, specializing in the study of natural and artificial intelligence.

Yale University

Yale University has produced 19 billionaires with a combined net worth of $149 billion. Fred Smith, the founder of the cargo airline FedEx, owes his career to Yale University. He wrote an economics paper as a student that became the foundation for his business. Besides, Yale alumni include three heirs of the food giant Mars, oil tycoons Lee, Edward, Robert, and Sid Bass, Pinterest founders Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra, and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who donated $150 million to his alma mater to create a new campus.

Cornell University

Cornell University has contributed to the careers of 13 billionaires with a combined net worth of $60.4 billion. Among them are heirs of the Johnson & Johnson cosmetics empire, who donated $150 million to their university in 2017 to develop the SC Johnson College of Business. Notable Cornell graduates also include PeopleSoft and Workday co-founder David Duffield and Sequoia Capital venture partner Douglas Leone.