Explained | Harvard's finances -- how much it has in endowments, how much tax it might have to pay

US President Donald Trump's administration has threatened universities with federal funding cuts over pro-Palestinian campus protests against US ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza after a deadly October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.

Trump casts the protesters as foreign policy threats who are antisemitic and sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly conflates their advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza with support for extremism and antisemitism.

The Trump administration is also attempting to deport some foreign protesters and has revoked hundreds of visas across the country.

In the centre of Trump's firing line is the prestigious Harvard University, alma mater of 40 Nobel laureates.

Harvard has previously said it worked to fight antisemitism and other prejudice on its campus while preserving academic freedoms and the right to protest.

The Trump administration said late last month it was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants to Harvard and later called for restrictions - including a mask ban and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs - to be put in place for the university to continue receiving federal money.

Harvard on Monday rejected numerous demands that it said would cede control to the government. The Trump administration subsequently said it was freezing $2.3 billion in funding.

Trump also threatened on Tuesday to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status. The US Internal Revenue Service is also making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard and that a final decision was expected soon.

Around 37 per cent of Harvard University's operating revenue in the fiscal year 2024 came via endowments. In its financial overview, the university has stated that it ended fiscal year 2024 with an operating revenue base of $6.5 billion, which means it's endowments for fiscal year 2024 was around $2.4 billion.

The university has a total endowment fund of $53 billion, Bloomberg reports.

An analysis by the publication has also revealed that Harvard has saved around $465 million in tax benefits in 2023 alone.

With Reuters inputs