As the school year begins, Harvard’s preeminence among American universities will be tested in the growing number of college rankings, in the hunt for marquee professors, and on the sports field. But there is one realm in which no other institutions of higher learning even come close: money. The amount of cash that Harvard brings in each year is more than the G.D.P. of many small countries (like Armenia and Macedonia). Even with an annual operating budget of more than $3 billion, the university has the financial might to take big gambles, such as a multibillion-dollar 200-plus-acre campus across the Charles River that is to be built in stages over the coming decades. We take an educated look at how Harvard’s annual haul breaks down.

Smart Investing
The famed Harvard endowment is now $34.9 billion, and the school has another $7.9 billion, which is managed separately and used to cover short-term costs. Both pools of money get invested in everything from foreign bonds to domestic stocks to real estate. The combined portfolio, overseen by the Harvard ­Management Co., posted a 23 percent gain last year. ­Typically, 4.5 percent of the endowment is used to pay the school’s costs, but as a result of public pressure, that figure will be bumped above 5 percent this year. Even that small percentage is enough to cover a third of the university’s annual budget. 
Total Earnings on Investments: $7.9 billion 

The Parent Trap
Tuition and room and board supply only a small slice of Harvard’s income (just $660 million). An enhanced financial-aid program will most likely keep that figure relatively stable for a few years.
Total Revenue: $660 million

Generous Donors
Despite Harvard’s existing fortune, it regularly ranks among the top 20 fundraisers in the country. Buildings on campus are dotted with the names of major donors, like the ­Annenberg family, which founded TV Guide and Seventeen. The latest, biggest gift was a $100 million pledge to fund international studies from Standard Oil scion—and class of 1936 graduate—David ­Rockefeller. Other donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (even though Bill dropped out of Harvard), Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and philanthropist Eli Broad, who pledged $200 million for
a bioscience lab that will be run in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard’s annual campaign has been exceeded in the past few years by that of Stanford, which has learned how to harness the wealth of Silicon Valley, yet Harvard still took in $615 million last year and has never been far behind. Some $200 million of this year’s donations can be spent immediately; the rest will go into the endowment.
Total Revenue: $615 million 

The T-Shirt Factory
For every Harvard bumper sticker, shot glass, and ­crimson baby bib sold in retail stores, the university gets a 4 percent cut. Wholesalers shipping products to ambitious parents around the world pay Harvard 8 percent of total sales. Together it adds up to more than $40 million a year for the school, most of which goes to fund scholarships. Harvard’s brand also pays off in other ways: University-held patents generate about $20 million each year, and books printed with its imprimatur bring in $90 million. (And while the school’s sports programs generate revenue, including nearly $1 million in ticket sales for football games alone, that’s not nearly enough to cover the approximately $16 million they cost annually.)
Total Licensing and Branding Revenue: $150 million 

The Bottom Line: Harvard's revenue puts it in a league with companies like Starbucks and Southwest Airlines.

Harvard's Total Estimate Annual Income: $9.33 billion