“The Vatican has an annual operating budget of under $300 million, while Harvard University, arguably the Vatican of elite secular opinion, has a budget of $3.7 billion, meaning it’s ten times greater. The Vatican’s ‘patrimony,’ what other institutions would call an endowment, is around $1 billion. In this case, Harvard’s ahead by a robust factor of thirty, with an endowment of $30.7 billion.”
Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 11:35 AM
March 19th, 2013 | 12:41 pm
For what it’s worth, Slate has an article about how rich the Catholic Church is. Bottom line: It’s hard to tell.
March 19th, 2013 | 5:39 pm
[nobody.really] “For what it’s worth, Slate has an article about how rich the Catholic Church is….”
If this is presented as a counterpoint of equals, then I’d want to ask for two comparative studies:
How many persons does the ‘wealth’ have to provide for, for the Catholic Church, and for Harvard?
What amount of global, philanthropic endeavors are financed – and staffed – by the Church, and by Harvard?
March 19th, 2013 | 5:43 pm
The vast majority of the Church’s wealth is really non-liquid, however you cut it.
If it sold off the Pieta, it might feed and house some hundreds of the poor for a few years, perhaps. But the same poor can go and see the Pieta with their own eyes when they visit the Vatican. If some private collector snaps it up, that may not be the case.
March 20th, 2013 | 1:37 pm
Let’s liquidate all of Harvard’s assets and give it to the poor!
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