Michael Bloomberg gives record $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is donating a record $1.8 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to fund financial aid for admitted low- and middle-income students.

“America is at its best when we reward people based on the quality of their work, not the size of their pocketbook,” Bloomberg announced in an opinion piece published Sunday in the New York Times. “Denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity. It perpetuates intergenerational poverty. And it strikes at the heart of the American dream: the idea that every person, from every community, has the chance to rise based on merit.”