Harvard's Rich, Bitches!

So much for losing $350 million in a hedge fund. Harvard's still plenty loaded. The university announced that its endowment stands at $34.9 billion, and returns for the fiscal year grew 23 percent from $29.2 billion.

The fiscal year for them ended on June 30, so they may have taken a hit in the recent Market Madness, but for them it's probably just a drop in the bucket. If they did take a hit, they're not talking about it.

The credit for the influx of money might go to Mohamed El-Erian, the head of Harvard Management Company, which handles the investments. He told the Crimson that new staff and growth in "emerging markets, private equity, and real estate" helped line the university's pockets.

As a side note, the Crimson titled its story on the university's massive sums "Endowment Swells to $34.9 B." IvyGateBlog was, of course, the first to notice this double reference to swelling bank accounts and swelling, uh, other things.

No word yet if the Harvard fund managers are going to make like Dave Chappelle with all that cash.