Billionaire Len Blavatnik has joined the list of donors withdrawing their support from Harvard University amid the Ivy League institution’s recent struggles with antisemitism.
Blavatnik, who is Jewish, is withholding donations to Harvard until the university addresses antisemitism on campus and ensures that Jewish students are as protected as others on campus, according to a source familiar with the matter.
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Born in Ukraine and raised in Russia, Blavatnik earned his fortune when the Soviet Union collapsed and state-owned companies underwent privatization. Blavatink’s fortune is estimated by Forbes to be worth $32 billion.
The Harvard Business School graduate has been a U.S. citizen for over 40 years and has expanded his philanthropic interests, especially toward various Jewish causes.
An inside source familiar with the matter told CNN that Blavatnik’s foundation has donated at least $270 million to the Ivy League juggernaut.
Harvard and several other top-tier universities have faced a backlash from donors following their lackluster responses to the rise in antisemitic behavior against Jewish students following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
More than 1,600 Harvard alumni that month vowed to withhold donations from their alma mater until the university took decisive steps against antisemitism.
The controversy only intensified after Harvard President Claudine Gay failed to denounce calls for genocide against Jews. Gay has apologized for her testimony.
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Blavatnik reportedly does not have any specific demands for the university in order to resume bankrolling the institution, nor has he entirely cut ties with the institution like some former backers, such as hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman.
“He wants Harvard to do better,” the source familiar with the matter told CNN. “He’s not trying to step away or abandon the place.”
