Editing Stanford University (section)

=== Endowment, assets, and donations ===
{{Main article|Stanford University endowment}}
Stanford's endowment includes real estate and other investments valued at $36.5 billion as of August 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |date=2023-08-31 |title=FAQ |url=https://smc.stanford.edu/faq/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Investment Office of Stanford Management Company |language=en-US |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706072421/https://smc.stanford.edu/faq/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and is one of the four [[List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment|largest academic endowments]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Sarah |date=2023-10-02 |title=15 National Universities With the Biggest Endowments |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments |access-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720170959/https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments |url-status=live }}</ref> The endowment consists of $29.9 billion in a merged pool of assets and $6.6 billion of real estate near the main campus. Stanford is the largest landowner in the Silicon Valley<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Stock |first1=Stephen |last2=Villarreal |first2=Mark |last3=Myers |first3=Sean |last4=Nious • |first4=Kevin |date=2019-11-01 |title=Who Owns Silicon Valley: Stanford? |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/who-owns-silicon-valley-stanford/2061716/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=NBC Bay Area |language=en-US |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913233505/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/who-owns-silicon-valley-stanford/2061716/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Payouts from the endowment covered approximately 22% of university expenses in the 2023 fiscal year.<ref name="2023FinRep">As of August 31, 2023. {{cite web |url=https://news.stanford.edu/2023/10/12/stanford-university-reports-return-investment-portfolio-value-endowment-2/ |title=Stanford University reports return on investment portfolio, value of endowment |date=October 12, 2023 |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913233507/https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2023/10/stanford-university-reports-return-investment-portfolio-value-endowment-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Since inception, the university has been the beneficiary of large donations. The endowment began in 1885, six years before the opening of the university, when Leland Stanford and his wife Jane conveyed approximately $20 million to the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Stanford University {{!}} Bondholder Information |url=https://bondholder-information.stanford.edu/about/about-stanford-university |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=bondholder-information.stanford.edu |language=en |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913233606/https://bondholder-information.stanford.edu/about/about-stanford-university |url-status=live }}</ref> The university's pioneering of technology intellectual property transfer created both direct investments and enabled a unique pipeline of mega-donors<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liang |first1=Weixin |last2=Elrod |first2=Scott |last3=McFarland |first3=Daniel A. |last4=Zou |first4=James |date=2022-09-09 |title=Systematic analysis of 50 years of Stanford University technology transfer and commercialization |journal=Patterns |volume=3 |issue=9 |pages=100584 |doi=10.1016/j.patter.2022.100584 |pmid=36124300 |issn=2666-3899|pmc=9481953 }}</ref> including from alumni-founded companies with [[Google]] ([[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]]), [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] ([[Phil Knight]]),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berman |first=Jillian |date=2016-02-24 |title=Nike's Phil Knight explains why he gave Stanford $400 million |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nike-ceo-phil-knight-explains-why-he-gave-stanford-400-million-2016-02-24 |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=[[MarketWatch]] |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202215055/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nike-ceo-phil-knight-explains-why-he-gave-stanford-400-million-2016-02-24 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hewlett-Packard]] ([[David Packard]] and [[Bill Hewlett]]),<ref>{{Cite web |last=magazine |first=STANFORD |date=2001-03-01 |title=Father Figure |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/father-figure |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=stanfordmag.org |language=en |archive-date=July 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730044825/https://stanfordmag.org/contents/father-figure |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Sun Microsystems]] ([[Vinod Khosla|Vinod Kohsla]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stanford Donors Accelerate COVID-19 Research and Drug Trials |url=https://medicalgiving.stanford.edu/why-giving-matters/Stanford-donors-accelerate-COVID-19-research-and-drug-trials.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Medical Center Development |language=en-US |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913233507/https://medicalgiving.stanford.edu/why-giving-matters/Stanford-donors-accelerate-COVID-19-research-and-drug-trials.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as examples. Further, the university's global reputation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 10 Technology Research Universities in the World: Cpst.org |url=http://www.cpst.org/10-technology-research-universities.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.cpst.org |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913233531/http://www.cpst.org/10-technology-research-universities.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and continued leadership in technology<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ewalt |first=David |date=2019-10-23 |title=Most Innovative Universities in the world 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AMERS-REUTERS%20RANKING-INNOVATIVE-UNIVERSITIES/0100B2JP1W1/index.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Reuters |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516183044/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AMERS-REUTERS%20RANKING-INNOVATIVE-UNIVERSITIES/0100B2JP1W1/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> has attracted large donations from prominent figures such as the co-founder of [[Netscape]] ([[James H. Clark|Jim Clark]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Jim Clark's $150 Million Gift to Stanford University |url=https://news.stanford.edu/2001/07/30/clarkgift |work=Stanford News Service }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> founder of [[SAP|SAP SE]] ([[Hasso Plattner]]),<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-10-03 |title=SAP founder gives $35 million for Stanford D-School |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-10-02/sap-founder-gives-35-million-for-stanford-d-school |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en }}</ref> co-founder of [[Andreessen Horowitz]] ([[Marc Andreessen]] and [[Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen|Laura Arillaga-Andreessen]]),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Don |date=2013-06-28 |title=Silicon Valley Donor Gives Big Again to Stanford |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-27480 |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205154008/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-27480 |url-status=live }}</ref> chairman of [[Kleiner Perkins]] ([[John Doerr]] and his wife Ann).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gelles |first=David |date=2022-05-04 |title=Stanford Gets $1.1 Billion for New Climate School From John Doerr |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/climate/john-doerr-stanford-climate.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626094926/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/climate/john-doerr-stanford-climate.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:The-Golden-Spike-7Oct2012.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.56|The original [[Golden spike]] on display at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University]]