Billionaire Jeff Yass donated $100 million to the University of Austin, an “anti-progressive” accredited school founded in 2021 by CBS News editor Bari Weiss, representing what he calls his largest individual donation to date.
Key data
The University of Austin announced that Yass’ donation marks the beginning of a campaign to raise $300 million, which will be used to fund it rather than using the money to pay student tuition or receive government subsidies.
Yass told the Wall Street Journal, which reported on the donation Wednesday morning, that its goal was to support the separation between education and government and reduce the financial burden on parents saving for their children’s tuition, adding that he was very impressed by the university’s achievements.
The university was co-founded by Weiss, who sold her publication The Free Press to Paramount for about $150 million in October and has since been named head of CBS News.
Forbes Rating
We estimate Yass’ net worth at $65.7 billion, a fortune amassed primarily through his investment firm, Susquehanna International Group. Yass became a Trump donor during the 2024 presidential campaign and is part of the group of investors prepared to take control of TikTok in the United States if President Donald Trump’s deal with China goes through.
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Key context
The University of Austin was founded in 2021 by a group that included Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor who resigned to found the online publication The Free Press, as well as billionaire Trump donor Joe Lonsdale.
The university was founded with an explicit mission against censorship and mainstream academia, combating what it calls the “rising wave of illiberalism and censorship prevalent in American universities.”
The University of Austin says it does not plan to charge tuition or accept public funds. Instead, it says it will rely on donations to fund its programs, betting that they will “produce exceptional graduates” who will generate more donations in the future.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the university has raised $200 billion by 2024, with donors including billionaire Len Blavatnik and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. Yass was reportedly the largest individual donor at the time, contributing $35 million.
Tangent
So far, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has only authorized the university to award bachelor’s degrees in “liberal studies.”
The university welcomed its first full-time graduating class of 2024, consisting of 92 students, Inside Higher Ed reported, and enrolled a second this fall.
Because it is not accredited, graduates of the University of Austin are unlikely to be able to access most graduate programs or transfer their credits; However, the institution claims to be working on agreements with other companies to accept its degrees before obtaining accreditation. The university indicates that its accreditation process is ongoing and plans to complete it between 2028 and 2031.
This article was originally published in Forbes US
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