Key facts
- Harvard's endowment returned 27.1% in the fiscal year ended June 30.
- The endowment grew to nearly $68 billion after accounting for taxes, distributions, and gifts.
- SpaceX was Harvard's top holding, valued at $2.2 billion as of June 30.
- The university's investment in SpaceX was more than six times larger than its second-largest position.
Harvard University's endowment achieved its highest investment return in five years, reaching 27.1% for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to its annual financial report. This performance outpaced the S&P 500's 22.3% total return. The endowment grew by $11 billion to nearly $68 billion after accounting for taxes, distributions, and gifts. A significant contributor to this growth was Harvard Management Company's investment in Elon Musk's SpaceX, which was valued at $2.2 billion by the end of June, making it the university's largest holding. This stake was more than six times larger than its second-largest position, a sub-$350 million stake in Taiwan Semiconductor. Other substantial holdings included Cerebras, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia. Harvard stated that the strong endowment performance helped it manage the termination of federal research grants. As of June 30, 14% of the endowment was in public equities, 29% in hedge funds, 46% in private equity, and 4% in real estate.