A Manhattan billionaire has donated more than $37million to seven of the country’s elite universities in hopes that it will improve his childrens’ chances of gaining a place at a top school.
David E. Shaw, 68, is the founder of D.E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund that uses computer algorithms to calculate risk.
Shaw’s company is considered one of the most profitable hedge funds in history. His success has enabled him to amass an estimated net worth of $7.3billion.
A new report by the site ProPublica reveals that Shaw is now using his vast wealth to give his kids a leg up in their higher education.
During the period between 2011 and 2018, Shaw’s charity has donated a total of $37.3million to seven elite colleges – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hedge fund billionaire David E. Shaw (left) and his wife, Beth Kobliner (right), have donated more than $37million to seven elite colleges and universities, according to a new report
The Shaw Family Endowment Fund has given $1million each year to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford.
Columbia and Brown have each received $500,000 annually, though in 2016 and 2017 the former received $1million.
Since 2013, the charity has given $200,000 each year to MIT.
A spokesperson for Harvard said that the university admits students who are ‘applicants of exceptional ability and character.’
A Yale spokesperson said the school ‘takes great care in its admissions process, and we stand behind the merit of all of our students.’
Stanford told ProPublica that ‘a donation does not purchase a place’ at the school.
‘Stanford does not accept gifts if it knows a gift is being made with the intention of influencing the admissions process,’ a spokesperson for the university said.
According to ProPublica, the donations to the universities represent 62 percent of the foundation’s donations during that period.
Experts in college fundraising told ProPublica that Shaw’s donations are meant to boost their children’s chances of being accepted into one of those schools.
Between 2011 and 2018, the Shaw Family Endowment Fund has given $1million each year to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. The campus of Harvard Business School is seen in the above stock image
The massive amount of money donated could mean that Shaw’s three kids – Rebecca, 23; Adam, 21; and Jacob, who is currently a sophomore in high school – could have their pick of which college to attend.
Rebecca and Adam were both accepted to Yale, the New Haven, Connecticut-based Ivy League school.
Jacob, the youngest, is currently attending Horace Mann, the elite prep school in the Bronx.
Tuition at Horace Mann, which offers instruction from pre-kindergarten until 12th grade, costs $51,000 a year.
All three of Shaw’s children attended the Horace Mann school, where students are strongly encouraged to work for entry into Ivy League universities beginning as early as sixth grade.
Shaw’s three children are from his marriage to Beth Kobliner, a financial journalist and author of several self-help books about investing.
Experts who were told about Shaw’s generous donations to the universities say there is nothing illegal about his actions.
By donating to numerous schools, Shaw was ‘hedging his bet’ that his children would be accepted into one of them.
While the donations may give the appearance that Shaw’s children were in need of help to get into the school of their choice, their academic performance suggests otherwise.
Rebecca and Adam did very well at the notoriously demanding Horace Mann, according to ProPublica.
They were both finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, a competition in which high school students are recognized for their grades, extracurricular activities and achievements, awards, and leadership positions.
Both of them scored in the top 1 per cent on the sophomore PSAT test, and they both managed to earn the distinction of gaining entry to the Cum Laude Society, which is reserved for those in the top 20 per cent of their class.
The couple’s three children received their primary education at the prestigious $51,000-a-year Horace Mann prep school in the Bronx
Adam was given honors in computing and communications, English, Japanese, math, and science.
Rebecca excelled at English, math, and psychology. As a senior, she was awarded a prize for community service.
She also co-wrote and co-directed a high school-themed musical, ‘Upper West Side Story,’ that parodied the culture at Horace Mann.
Rebecca Shaw graduated from Yale last year. She was hired as a writer for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The youngest of the three children, Jacob, attended Stanford’s summer jazz program for teens. He also co-wrote a children’s book with his mother, Jacob’s Eye Patch.
The multiple donations strategy is devoid of the fraud that characterized the parents ensnared in the college admissions scandal, also known as ‘Varsity Blues.’
At least 51 people were charged in a vast scheme in which wealthy parents were accused of conspiring to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure for their children admission to prominent U.S. universities.
These schools included Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas and Wake Forest.
One of those indicted, actress Felicity Huffman, was sentenced to 14 days in a federal prison after she pleaded guilty to paying to rig her daughter’s college entrance exam.