<p>Has Warren Buffet, the 2nd richest man in the world and Columbia graduate, ever made a large monetary donation to Columbia?</p>
<p>Nope. Not shocking-- people are far more loyal to their undergrad school than where they went to grad school (particularly a 2 year MBA program).</p>
<p>Actually, Buffett did not make donations for much of his life. For example he is a massive fan of Nebraska (he completed his undergrad there) but never gave money to them. Only recently has Buffett decided to give all his wealth away and only to select foundations (Gates Foundation, a few foundations set up by his kids). Obviously Buffett greatly appreciates Columbia (as he was taught by Graham and his approach was greatly influenced by Graham’s teachings). However, due to the fact that he doesn’t think donations to universities have a great impact (he had a bad experience while helping the endowment of Grinnell) he hasn’t donated to Columbia. .</p>
<p>What was his experience with Grinnell, if you don’t mind explaining?</p>
<p>What did Grinnell do to MR. BUFFETT???</p>
<p>Buffett basically helped manage the endowment for Grinnell. Their endowment grew by leaps and bounds because the investments Buffett recommended were top notch. However, he wasn’t happy about the fact that a lot of money was being spent but not necessarily to improve the quality of education. This bad experience led him to stop aiding endowments. </p>
<p>He is also a very calculating man (a positive attribute). He feels that the benefits of simply throwing money at universities is less than pursuing other high impact areas. For much of his life Buffett didn’t donate money because it was better to compound that capital instead of spending it. Obviously it worked because now he was able to give away over 30 billion dollars to foundations who pursues ideas he likes.</p>