New York (HedgeCoVest.Com) Hedge fund manager John Paulson made news earlier this week when he pledged a record donation of $400 million to Harvard’s engineering school. In most cases such a donation would be hailed as a wonderful gesture, but because it is a hedge fund manager and because it is Harvard, the critics couldn’t help but criticize the donation.

MarketWatch published an article entitled Harvard is Richer than Some Countries- why give it $400 Million?. Author Malcolm Gladwell tweeted “If billionaires don’t step up, Harvard will soon be down to its last $30 billion” and “Apparently $200 mil is earmarked for a satellite campus on St Barts.”

Apparently bashing hedge fund managers isn’t reserved for politicians. Apparently authors want in on the fun.
Isn’t it ironic that President Obama, a Harvard Alum, along with Hillary Clinton and other presidential candidates have recently been in attack mode on hedge fund managers and then when one manager makes a record donation to his alma mater, the critics still find a way to try to make the industry look bad.

Here is my opinion. If Mr. Gladwell wants to criticize someone else’s $400 million charitable donation, perhaps he should make one himself. He can choose the charity. How can Hillary Clinton criticize hedge fund managers and then go to one’s house for a fundraiser? And then there is the fact that her son-in-law is a hedge fund manager.

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest