What the Outside World Thinks of Harvard’s Biggest Gift

Billionaire John A. Paulson’s hefty donation to rename the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has Harvard administrators celebrating, but if outside reaction to the gift is any indication, not everyone agrees that donating to the country’s wealthiest university is the best use of $400 million.

In the days since the gift was announced, a number of bloggers and columnists have questioned if Paulson’s gift to Harvard was worthwhile or even truly altruistic. Author Malcolm Gladwell, for his part, sent out a string of snarky tweets weighing in on Paulson’s donation on June 3—messages that made even the most cynical Twitter users turn in their seats.

Paulson’s next career move, Gladwell wrote, should be “volunteering at the Hermes store on Madison Avenue.” “Let's make this a truly world class retail outlet!” he declared. Working the "coat check at Art basel” would be a sufficient alternative to giving back, he added. Ouch.

Minutes later, he tweeted, “Harvard's pitch to Paulson: not all privileged people are equally privileged!”

We wonder if the same strategy was used to lure Gerald L. Chan into his $350 million gift to rename the School of Public Health last fall.