Let me be blunt: If you own a billion-dollar portfolio of prime real estate, rake in millions annually, and act like a corporation—then you should pay taxes like a corporation. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck—then it’s a duck. But not if you’re a university.

Welcome to the greatest people don’t talk about it tax dodge happening in America right now—where elite colleges and universities operate sprawling tax-free property empires while middle-class families drown in tuition debt and local communities foot the bill.

If you live in a college town, you know this because your town is dominated by college-owned real estate. This game needs to end. Now.

TOM COTTON SHOULD GO FURTHER: AN ENDOWMENT TAX SHOULD NOT EXCLUDE BIG FOUNDATIONS

The Billionaire Boys Club of Academia

You think colleges are cash-strapped? Think again.

As of 2024, over 100 U.S. colleges and universities have endowments exceeding $1 billion. Harvard alone sits on a pile of over $50 billion. Yale and The University of Texas? North of $40 billion. These aren’t educational institutions anymore. They’re investment firms with a side hustle issuing degrees.

And while they enjoy tax-exempt status, they're gobbling up massive swaths of land in cities and towns across America—and not paying a single dime in property taxes.

Let that sink in.

If you or I buy a rental home, we pay property taxes. If a mom-and-pop store opens a new location, they pay property taxes. But if a university buys a luxury high-rise and calls it "graduate housing," they pay nothing.

Real Estate Moguls in Disguise

Universities are rapidly expanding their land holdings under the guise of "academic use," but the reality looks more like a real estate portfolio. According to a 2023 study by the Urban Institute, colleges and universities own more than 1 million acres of land nationwide—much of it in high-value urban areas.

Boston? Tufts, Harvard, Boston College and MIT dominate the landscape. In New York? Columbia has been snapping up entire blocks in West Harlem. Out west? Stanford owns more land than many private developers.

This tax-free sprawl chokes city revenue, drives up housing costs, and starves public services of funding. Cities are left scrambling to fund police, fire departments, and schools—all while these bloated institutions build climbing walls, gourmet cafeterias, and student luxury apartments.

And don’t be fooled—this isn’t just about education anymore.

NIL Has Changed the Game—Literally

With Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals now the norm, major college athletic programs have fully transformed into business operations. Star athletes are pulling in seven-figure endorsement deals, while schools rake in hundreds of millions through media rights, merchandise, and donor contributions tied to athletics. Cooper Flagg pulled in a cool $28 million last year. 

What part of this resembles a charity?

You’ve got universities cutting sweetheart TV deals, launching national ad campaigns, and building multi-million-dollar stadiums and recreational facilities—all while hiding behind their tax-exempt status. In any other industry, this would be called corporate tax evasion. But in higher ed? It's just another day at the office.

Meanwhile, Students Are Drowning

While the ivory towers get richer, the average student gets poorer. College tuition has soared over 170% in the past 20 years, far outpacing inflation, wage growth, or any other economic measure. The average cost of attending a four-year private college now tops $60,000 per year—and that’s before books, fees, or a single slice of dining hall pizza.

And who benefits from this inflation? University administrators—who are making CEO-level salaries. Over 100 public university presidents earn more than $500,000 annually, with many topping $1 million.

This is no longer about learning. It’s about building empires—on our tax dollars.

It’s Time to Level the Playing Field

If colleges want to act like hedge funds, they should be taxed like hedge funds. That means:

• Paying real estate taxes on non-instructional property
• Limiting endowment tax-exempt growth unless it’s spent directly on tuition reduction
• Creating local revenue-sharing models with municipalities to support essential services

Some cities like Boston have started asking universities for voluntary "Payments in Lieu of Taxes" (PILOTs), but let’s be real—voluntary payments from billion-dollar institutions? What a joke. That’s like asking the IRS if you can tip them.

This needs to be mandatory, and it needs to happen at the federal and state levels.

Wouldn’t You Love No Real Estate Taxes?

Colleges and universities have become powerful, tax-sheltered corporations—real estate giants, brand empires, sports machines—all wrapped in the American flag of "higher education." But the average family can’t afford their product, local communities are subsidizing their expansions, and students are left holding the bag.

Enough is enough. It’s time to make these billion-dollar institutions pay their fair share. Because if your child must take out $100,000 in loans for a degree, the least the university can do is pay for the sidewalks they will traverse on campus.