Wharton Announces Its Largest-Ever Donor Gift — And First New Degree In 50 Years

University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School announced today (September 15) that it has received a historic $60 million gift to launch a new Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program. Not only is the donation the largest single gift in Wharton’s history, the MSQF is the school’s first new degree in 50 years.

The gift comes from Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs, principal and co-founder of Jacobs Levy Equity Management, as well as a Wharton graduate and former professor.

“Bruce’s longtime philanthropic support has been instrumental in cementing Wharton’s position as the global leader in quantitative finance research and education,” says Wharton School Dean Erika James in a release.

“The Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program marks an exciting new chapter of excellence in finance at Wharton. Building on our legacy as a powerhouse in the financial arena and a pioneer of the data-informed approach to learning, Wharton offers an unparalleled environment for students to explore this dynamic industry and emerge prepared to shape the future of finance.”

A NEW PATHWAY IN QUANTITATIVE FINANCE

The degree’s first cohort will begin fall 2026. It is designed for Penn undergrads in quantitative fields, adding one year of advanced study in quantitative methods, machine learning, artificial intelligence and financial markets. It is built for people looking to work in quantitative asset management or similar fields.

“Wharton is the world’s top business school because it consistently leads at the forefront of fields like quantitative finance,” says University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson. “This new, innovative, hands-on graduate program will further advance our University’s strategic focus on data and AI while preparing our quantitative finance students and scholars to lead in a rapidly changing world.”

The data-intensive curriculum includes six required courses such as data science for finance and foundations of asset pricing, as well as access to more than 30 electives across Wharton and Penn’s other schools. In the final semester, students will complete a hands-on research project addressing a real-world challenge in quantitative asset management.

Students will get access to Wharton’s global alumni network and exposure to industry practitioners, regulators, and market participants through tailored seminars and presentations.

David Musto, the Ronald O. Perelman Professor in Finance, will serve as faculty director of the new program.

TOTAL GIFTS ADD UP TO MORE THAN $80 MILLION

Jacobs has a long history with Wharton. He earned an M.A. in Applied Economics from the school in 1979 and his Ph.D. in Finance in 1986. He was also a member of the Wharton finance faculty.

He has supported quantitative finance research and teaching at the school for the past 15 years. In 2011, he co-founded the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research, which has since become a leading hub for scholarship in the field. His gifts also established the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Dissertation Fellowships, the Wharton-Jacobs Levy Prize for Quantitative Financial Innovation, the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance, and the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Scholars program.

He also supported Wharton’s MBA quantitative finance major which was launched in 2020.

In all, Jacobs has donated more than $80 million to quantitative finance initiatives at his alma mater.

“When I was at Wharton, quantitative finance was in its infancy. Now, it is an essential discipline in a data-driven world,” Jacobs says. “By bridging theory and practice, the MSQF program will have a lasting impact on the industry and many future generations of students, as well as ensure the Wharton School will be at the forefront of this dynamic field.”

Jacobs currently serves as the co-chief investment officer, portfolio manager, and co-director of research at his equity management firm. He is the author of Too Smart for Our Own Good: Ingenious Investment Strategies, Illusions of Safety, and Market Crashes as well as several other books. He is co-author with Ken Levy of Equity Management: The Art and Science of Modern Quantitative Investing, Second Edition.

BIG MONEY GIFTS TO B-SCHOOLS

The landmark gift comes as Wharton’s donor base rebounded after a marked decline the last two years when many donors withheld contributions in protest of Penn’s handling of campus antisemitism allegations.

Earlier this month, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that the school’s 2025 Donor Honor Roll – a document that lists Wharton’s donors by name, but not by donation amount – had more donors listed than 2023 or 2024. The newspaper also reported, however, that a few of Wharton’s prominent benefactors have yet to return. Marc Rowan, for example, chair of Wharton’s Board of Advisors, publicly cut financial ties with the university in 2023 and did not appear on the 2025 list. He and his wife, Carolyn, donated $50 million to the school in 2018, which was the highest award until today’s announcement.

Jacobs’ $60 million commitment not only stands as Wharton’s highest single contribution to date, but it secures a spot on an exclusive but growing list of business school gifts of at least $50 million.

In the last two and half decades, notable alumni have increasingly made transformative big-dollar gifts to their alma maters. David Booth’s $300 million gift to Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2008 remains the largest ever, followed by Stephen Ross’ $250 million gift to Michigan’s Ross School of Business over several years.

Largest Philanthropic Gifts To Business Schools
School	Amount	Donor	Year
Chicago’s Booth School of Business	$300 million	David Booth	2008
Michigan’s Ross School of Business	$250 million	Stephen Ross	2004, 2013, 2017
University of Hawai’i-Mānoa Shidler College of Business	$228 million	Jay H. Shidler	2014, 2017
University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business	$150 million	Larry Gies	2017
Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business	$150 million	H. Fisk Johnson	2017
Stanford Graduate School of Business	$150 million	Robert & Dorothy King	2011
UCLA Anderson School of Management	$142 million	John & Marion Anderson	1987, 2011, 2015
Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business	$122 million	David Tepper	2004, 2013
Stanford Graduate School of Business	$105 million	Philip Knight	2006
Yale School of Management	$100 million	Eli & Edythe Broad	2019
UC-San Diego Rady School of Management	$100 million	Ernest Rady	2015
Florida State College of Business	$100 million	Jim Moran	2015
Columbia Business School	$100 million	Ronald Perelman	2013
Columbia Business School	$100 million	Henry Kravis	2010
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School	$95 million	The Goizueta Foundation	1997-2019
New York University Stern School of Business	$86 million	Leonard Stern	1988, 2015, 2021
Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School	$80 million	David Atkinson	2010
Arizona State’s Carey School of Business	$75 million	William Carey	2003, 2019
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School	$75 million	William Carey	2006, 2020
Chicago Booth	$75 million	Amy & Richard Wallman	2017
Florida’s Warrington College of Business	$75 million	Al & Judy Warrington	2014
Delaware’s Lerner College of Business	$71.5 million	Robert & Kathleen Siegfried	2025
Virginia’s Darden School of Business	$68 million	Frank & Marjorie Sands	2019
Virginia’s Darden School of Business	$62 million	Frank Batten	1999
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School	$60 million	Bruce I. Jacobs	2025
Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School	$60 million	Richard D’Amore & Alan McKim	2012
Thunderbird School of Management	$60 million	Sam & Rita Garvin	2004
Babson College	$50 million	Arthur Blank	2019
Purdue’s Daniels School of Business	$50 million	Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation	2023
Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business	$50 million	David & Carolyn Miller	2019
University of San Diego Knauss School of Business	$50 million	Ellie & Don Knauss	2021
Tel Aviv Coller School of Management	$50 million	Jeremy Coller	2016
Boston University’s Questrom School	$50 million	Allen & Kelli Questrom	2015
New York University Stern School of Business	$50 million	William & Marjorie Berkley	2021
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School	$50 million	Marc & Carolyn Rowan	2018
Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business	$50 million	Jim Haslam & family	2014
Georgia Tech’s Scheller College	$50 million	Ernest Scheller	2012
Harvard Business School	$50 million	Tata Group	2010
Yale School of Management	$50 million	Ned Evans	2010
Texas’ McCombs School of Business	$50 million	Red McCombs	2000
Arkansas’ Walton College of Business	$50 million	The Walton Family	1998
Iowa State University Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business	$50 million	Debbie & Jerry Ivy	2017

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