What a little-noticed bond offering reveals about Harvards war with Trump

Harvard University, among the most prestigious of America’s Ivy League universities, has revealed a few chinks in its finances as it continues its battle with the Trump administration, On The Money has learned.That’s our reading of an interesting document that the school recently distributed on Wall Street, a “preliminary offering statement” that makes disclosures to investors who are weighing whether to snap up the university’s debt.Harvard is planning to borrow $675 million through a Massachusetts agency that sells low-cost, tax-advantaged municipal bonds on behalf of certain private entities that qualify for the privilege, universities being among them. Most such issues would be pretty prosaic; indeed there’s nothing unusual about this borrowing per se since it’s being used mostly to refinance older, higher-cost bonds, and to fund a few capital projects.What’s interesting are the disclosures in the document, which some say represent a sobering new reality for the most elite of our colleges after it has come under scrutiny by the Trump administration and the public for how it handled hot-button political issues on campus.For those on the right who think Harvard is on the verge of bankruptcy because of its ongoing contretemps with the White House – including government probes and throttling of federal research funds over campus antisemitism – you’re going to be a bit disappointed.The school maintains the highest bond ratings – triple-A from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the biggest outfits that assess an issuer’s ability to repay its bonds.Meanwhile, Harvard’s massive $56.9 billion endowment – an investment pool that helps the university fund projects and dole out financial aid for students – returned 11.9% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. People at the school tell me that the endowment’s returns surpassed the school’s long-term “benchmark” or goal of cranking out an 8% return.

OK, not bad.But the 11.9% e...