Wall Street titans help to fuel Ivy League donor revolt

Billionaire Marc Rowan has been in touch with what one finance executive quipped was “half of Wall Street” about halting donations to some of the country’s most prestigious universities, to protest the schools’ responses to the Israel-Hamas war.

The CEO of private equity giant Apollo Global Management belongs to a growing group of Wall Street executives speaking privately with fellow financiers about how to use their influence as major donors to pressure schools into making leadership changes.

Rowan took part in a Zoom call Oct. 23 with dozens of wealthy donors to other Ivy League schools, including Yale University and Harvard University, according to those familiar with the call. One of the things they discussed was pausing their financial support for the schools, these people explained.

At least 400 Penn alumni and donors joined a recent call hosted by former class presidents and several speakers said they were frustrated with the university’s current leadership, according to a person familiar. Rowan was one of the final speakers on the call, where he raised his own issues about the school, this person explained.

Beyond the calls with donors and alumni, Rowan and other finance executives critical of the universities have been in contact through text messages about their concerns with the schools. One of the people on these text message chains with Rowan is Bill Ackman, CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The individuals were granted anonymity in order to speak freely about private conversations.

Rowan and Ackman are not alone. Investors David Magerman and Leon Cooperman have also said they plan to stop donating to their preferred universities to protest how the schools have responded to the war.

A spokesman for Ackman said the Pershing Square CEO declined to comment. Rowan did…