David Swensen, The Greatest Investor You Maybe Never Heard Of, Leaves Powerful Legacy
David Swensen made billions for Yale and revolutionized the way Universities and other non-profits invest. And he strove to teach everyday people how to invest without getting fleeced by Wall Street.
A pioneering investor who ran Yale University's endowment, David Swensen, died this week at the age of 67 after a years-long battle with cancer. Swensen revolutionized the way many colleges invest, infusing some schools and nonprofits with vastly more resources to pay for things like financial aid for students and research.
Swensen was widely regarded by other investors as one of the greatest in the world. Case in point: He grew Yale's endowment from $1 billion in 1985 to $31 billion last year.
But he's not a household name. And that's maybe because he didn't make those billions for himself — even though, with his track record, he almost
