Foreign cash from China, Qatar floods elite U.S. universities with $12B
Harvard, Cornell, and NYU top the list of schools accepting billions from foreign regimes
A watchdog group found that China and Qatar have poured nearly $12 billion into liberal U.S. universities.
A new report reveals that American universities have received nearly $12 billion from China and Qatar, raising alarms about foreign influence over academic agendas at top-tier institutions.
The report, released in June by watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, tracks billions in foreign donations to U.S. colleges—funds often concentrated among elite universities. The group warns that these contributions from authoritarian regimes allow them to “purchase influence” and manipulate American higher education from within.
“China has given over $3.7 billion to over 200 colleges and universities in the U.S., and over 42% of that amount—$1.57 billion—has gone to ten schools alone,” the report states.
Among the largest recipients of Chinese funds are New York University ($349 million), Harvard University ($246 million), and Stanford University ($148 million).
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Qatar’s contributions are even more significant, totaling $6.25 billion. Cornell University received $2.1 billion, Texas A&M University accepted $992 million, and Georgetown University brought in $967 million.
Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, called the situation “extremely troubling.”
“Billions in foreign money has been flowing into colleges and universities for decades, and it’s extremely troubling that so much is concentrated from countries that are openly hostile to the United States,” said Sutherland. “Nearly $12 billion has come from China and Qatar alone, frequently to elite research institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Columbia.”
Sutherland warned that this money allows hostile regimes to “shape curriculum, steer research priorities, and cultivate student bodies sympathetic to their views—ultimately serving as a vehicle for propaganda.”
[RELATED: Report highlights $1B in Qatari funding to Georgetown since 2005]
Harvard has previously faced scrutiny for foreign financial ties.
On May 1, Campus Reform reported that the university accepted around $1.5 million from Palestinian sources between 2017–2019 and over $1.4 billion in foreign money across the past decade, per U.S. Department of Education information.
“As a recipient of federal funding, Harvard University must be transparent about its relations with foreign sources and governments,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in April. “Unfortunately, our review indicated that Harvard has not been fully transparent or complete in its disclosures, which is both unacceptable and unlawful.”
The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has also come under federal scrutiny for similar foreign funding issues.
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Americans for Public Trust for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
