College Endowment Funds in Perspective

Harvard University's endowment fund value has passed $32 billion.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute released endowment values of colleges across the U.S. and Canada.  Here are the most richly valued endowment funds from the study:

1. Harvard - $32 billion
2. Yale - $21 billion
3. University of Texas - $20 billion
4. Stanford - $19 billion
5. Princeton - $18 billion

So how much is $32 billion?  One of the largest health insurance companies in the world is Aetna.  They employ 48,000 people and have over 22 million members.  The total value of Aetna is $27 billion.  

Harvard University is worth $5 billion more than Aetna.