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The University of Austin, which kicked off its first academic year last month with 92 students, is raking in millions from several prominent conservative billionaires, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The university, founded in 2021, raised at least $200 million in private donations from 2,600 donors, The Texas Tribune reported last year. The Wall Street Journal details who some of those people are. They include real estate developer Harlan Crow, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, businessman Jeff Yass and Alex Magaro, who is co-president of investment firm Meritage Group.
Yass, who has donated to several conservative groups and backed efforts to expand school choice or vouchers programs, has given $35 million to the University of Austin, according to the report. Magaro gave $10 million.
University president Pano Kanelos told the Journal that the top 10 donors to the institution vary in political ideology. However, “everyone who gives to us is a critic of higher education,” Kanelos said.
