Harvard Dropout to Receive a Diploma

If I told you that a Harvard student dropped out 1975 after less than two years at the college, but was still awarded a diploma, albeit 32 years later, what would you say? What if I told you that this college dropout is also the richest man in the world? Well, Bill Gates never did graduate from Harvard, but he is going to be receiving his honorary Harvard diploma during the Commencement ceremonies this year. Apparently even a Harvard degree can be bought for the right price! Check out the announcement on the Harvard website here.

Its perhaps also worth noting that at last check the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Endowment is locked in a tight race with the Harvard Endowment for the title of the largest endowment in the world. The Gates Foundation is estimated to be worth close to $33bb while the Harvard Endowment was at $29.2bb as of June of 2006, though is probably over $30bb by now. However, with the addition of Warren Buffett's money, the Gates Foundation is expected to double in size and will most likely play a philanthropic role on this planet indefinitely. Never before in the history of mankind has such a high percentage of a country's wealth been earmarked for philanthropic purposes. Thanks Bill and Melinda (and Warren).