The 20 wealthiest private colleges in America

University of Pennsylvania / Scott Spitzer

The wealthiest private colleges in America eclipse many corporate giants as financial powerhouses. The endowment for Yale University, for instance, is worth nearly twice as much Macy's or MGM Resorts. Harvard University — the richest college in the country and $13 billion wealthier than Yale — could buy Prudential, General Mills, or Nokia with its $36 billion endowment. 

Schools like Yale and Harvard use their endowments to support their operating budget and invest for future opportunities, from providing scholarships and financial aid to funding research and other initiatives. The richest colleges, frequently the most prestigious, can offer more of these opportunities to their students and community, giving them a leg up in recruitment and helping them burnish their academic reputation.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an organization under the US government that collects and analyzes education data, provided Business Insider with the most recent figures on US college endowments (the fiscal year ending in October 2014). It also provided its most recent data on the annual cost for a student to attend each college while living on campus. 

Business Insider rounded up the 30 richest colleges overall, and below we've highlighted the 20 wealthiest private colleges — which all boast endowments of more than $3 billion.

Additional reporting by Alex Morrell.

20. Johns Hopkins University

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Endowment: $3.39 billion

Total cost: $63,529

With nine schools and more than 240 programs — including top-ranked biomedical and environmental engineering programs — Johns Hopkins offers undergraduates endless areas of study, from biophysics to music composition. Johns Hopkins Hospital, the teaching hospital and medical center affiliated with JHU’s school of medicine, is regarded as one the best in the country.

19. New York University

Location: New York, New York

Endowment: $3.44 billion

Total cost: $66,022

The largest private research university in the US, NYU has over 40,000 students not only in New York but in cities all over the world, including Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Its renowned Tisch School of the Arts has churned out notable alumni such as Martin Scorsese and Alec Baldwin. The university's Stern School of Business is one of the 20 best business schools in the world.

18. Vanderbilt University

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Endowment: $4.05 billion

Total cost: $62,320

Vanderbilt prides itself on being ranked No. 1 on the list of schools with the happiest students by Princeton Review. With over 200 music venues surrounding the school’s campus, Music City provides the university's students with a lush playground for exploration. The options don’t stop there, about 40% of Vanderbilt’s students choose to study abroad with one of the university’s more than 120 programs available in 36 countries on six continents.