When it comes to the immigration to the U.S. through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, some of the most common questions we receive from clients are about universities, including which ones are the best in the nation. With a new school year approaching, there is no better time than now to start looking at top schools to enhance your child’s future—and picking the right one is undoubtedly key to future success. In this blog, we’re going to take an interesting look at the top ten universities that produce the most billionaires in the United States. While several of the colleges and universities rank among the nation’s “Ivy League” class, if not among the best in the world, there are a few listed that may surprise you.
Note: The following information is part of a recent study by Wealth-X, an American firm that conducts research and valuations on ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) throughout the world.
| Rank | University | Location | Known Billionaires | Combined Wealth (in USD) |
| 10 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | 19 | $82.7 Billion |
| 9 | Yale University | New Haven, Connecticut | 21 | $99.2 Billion |
| 8 | University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 21 | $48.7 Billion |
| 7 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, California | 22 | $51.3 Billion |
| 6 | Cornell University | Ithaca, New York | 23 | $57 Billion |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 26 | $157.9 Billion |
| 4 | Columbia University | New York City, New York | 38 | $218 Billion |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 47 | $245.5 Billion |
| 2 | Stanford University | Stanford, California | 50 | $338.9 Billion |
| 1 | Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 131 | $528.7 Billion |
According to the report released by Wealth-X, 398 of the 400 billionaires obtained a degree from one of top 10 U.S. universities, which leaves little room for coincidence that where you get your education makes a difference on your path to success. For individuals such as Eric Schmidt, Warren Buffett, and Elon Musk, their choice of university delivered the most “bang for their buck,” even after tuition.
Leading the list was Harvard University, which is generally regarded as the most prestigious academic institution in America (next to Princeton University, whose name is surprisingly absent from the study). Of the Harvard alumni, Wealth-X determined that there were 131 living billionaires who had graduated from the school and together, with their fortune totaling nearly USD $530 billion—and this is without including two of the wealthiest men in the world, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who are both Harvard dropouts. Next in line was Stanford University, whose alumni include multi-billionaires and Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Total, Stanford University has produced 50 living billionaires, with more than USD $330 billion between the university’s alumni.
While attending one of America’s leading universities doesn’t guarantee you will become a billionaire, it does speak volumes about one’s potential for success. According to the U.S. News ranking for 2017, the top ten American universities are only slightly different from the Wealth-X report:
1. Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)
2. Harvard University (Cambride, Massachusetts)
3. University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) – Tie
3. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) – Tie
5. Columbia University (New York City, New York) – Tie
5. Stanford University (Sanford, California) – Tie
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
8. Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) – Tie
8. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – Tie
10. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)
As you can see, several leading American universities overlap in both rankings and make up the majority of America’s prestigious “Ivy League” schools (though absent from the top 10, Brown University and Dartmouth College are still ranked in the top 15 universities in the U.S.).
Final Thoughts
For families with college-aged children who have or are looking to immigrate to the U.S. through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, finding the right school is probably going to be a high priority, and there’s no better indicator that a good education can secure a better future.
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