Endowments at the 20 richest colleges in Massachusetts rose nearly 30% in three years, according to a Boston Business Journal analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.
In all, 13 colleges across the state have endowments of at least $1 billion, more than 10% of the 127 nationwide that meet that milestone. Massachusetts also claims two of the top five: Harvard, which has far and away the largest college endowment anywhere at more than $50 billion; and MIT, with nearly $25 billion.
Endowments have spiked in recent years, reflecting both rising donations and strong investment returns. The strong investment returns last year was a turnaround from the previous year, when there was an average decline of 6.9% from fiscal 2021 to 2022 among the 20 richest Massachusetts colleges.
