Ken Griffin's record university gift caps a year of megagifts with strings attached
Ken Griffin, the investor, gave Carnegie Mellon University more than $3 billion on September 30, 2026, mainly to build a new campus in Miami. That gift broke the record Phil and Penny Knight set in 2025 with $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University. Donors gave U.S. colleges and universities $79 billion in 2025, and 89% of it came from only 2% of donors.
The wealthiest donors decide how much of their surplus leaves their hands, and they also decide where it lands. Most megagifts come tied to specific purposes. Fully unrestricted gifts fell below 7% of university giving in 2024, while federal research funding cuts squeezed school budgets. MacKenzie Scott stands out because she gives control away: she has made more than $26 billion in unrestricted donations to nonprofits.
Source: The Conversation · October 12, 2026