No. 17: Marc Rowan: Philanthropist taking US universities to task
Billionaire investor and philanthropist Marc Rowan led a wave of donors to withhold funds from universities failing to tackle antisemitism.
Billionaire investor and philanthropist Marc Rowan spearheaded a campaign to create consequences for universities that failed to appropriately address antisemitism on campus in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
The CEO of asset management firm Apollo Global Management, Rowan called on philanthropists to stop donations to the University of Pennsylvania in an op-ed published by eJewishPhilanthropy.
“At this watershed moment in UPenn’s history, I call on all UPenn alumni and supporters who believe we are heading in the wrong direction to ‘close their checkbooks,’” he said.
“Join me and many others who love UPenn by sending the university $1 in place of your normal discretionary contribution so that no one misses the point,” he added.
Holding academic institutions accountable
Rowan highlighted the importance of academic institutions while criticizing them for failing to condemn hate and explaining how influential this can be.
“Elite academic institutions hold a special place in our society, with their pedigreed histories, impressive faculties, and extensive resources,” Rowan said in his op-ed. “The embrace of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination by these institutions legitimizes and reinforces hate, racism, and, ultimately, violence. UPenn is not alone among academic institutions in its failure to condemn all forms of hatred, including antisemitic hatred.”
When asked by The Jerusalem Post about the role of philanthropy, Rowan said there should be a way for philanthropists to hold people to account.
“We have not exacted a price for being antisemitic; we have not called people out,” he said. “We wouldn’t hire someone who was anti-black, anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-Indian, anti-Hindu. Why would I hire someone who was antisemitic?”
“Why would I not call out philanthropic institutions that behave in an antisemitic fashion?” Rowan asked. “Why would I give to organizations, cultural organizations, or otherwise, who are making it difficult for Jews? This is just common sense.”