Nicolai Tangen‘s $25 million donation to Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has been earmarked to construct and transform a new campus building, which will be named Tangen Hall.
Nicolai Tangen, the founder of London-based investment partnership AKO Capital which manages over $ 100 billion for some of the world’s richest private individuals and institutions, is not the first mega profitable hedge fund manager to donate to the academic world.
“Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donation to Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has been earmarked to construct and transform a new campus building, which will be named Tangen Hall”
Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donation mirrors that of David Tepper the world’s 4th highest earning hedge fund manager who made a $67 million donation to Carnegie Mellon University and also has a business school named after Tepper, (Tepper School of Business).
So Nicolai Tangen, who during the peak of the central bank’s money printing QE program was making two million dollars every day is also funding a university which will have a school named after him too. Perhaps billionaire hedge fund managers funding academia could be a growing trend going forward?
Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donation to Wharton School is the largest single donation the University has received
“We are profoundly grateful to Nicolai and Katja Tangen for their extraordinary commitment to extend opportunities for entrepreneurship to all Penn students,” said Penn President Amy Gutmann.
“Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donation to Wharton School is the largest single donation the University has received”
“Talented and creative students are working hard to identify challenges where they can implement efficient, sustainable, and actionable solutions through innovative ventures. Their efforts will start in Tangen Hall and have an impact across the country and around the world.
We are also grateful that Nicolai and Katja are expanding their steadfast scholarship support, enabling the best students from every part of the world to attend Penn, to thrive in their studies, and to serve communities worldwide” added the University’s President.
“Tangen Hall represents the first ever space dedicated for cross-campus student entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania”
Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donations to Wharton School will buy the hedge fund manager kudos prestige encapsulated in a 70,000 square feet hall, Tangen Hall located at 40th and Sansom Streets.
Tangen Hall represents the first ever space dedicated for cross-campus student entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Plans for Tangen Hall include a test kitchen for food-centric startups, A Maker Lab operated by Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and featuring 3D printers and laser cutters, a virtual reality environment or VR cave and finally a café for re-energizing and socializing.
“Tangen Hall marks a new chapter for the entrepreneurial community at Penn and in Philadelphia, providing a central hub for the groundbreaking innovations that happen here every day” – Karl Ulrich
Here is what the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Karl Ulrich had to say about Nicolai Tangen’s $25 million donations to Wharton School.
“Tangen Hall marks a new chapter for the entrepreneurial community at Penn and in Philadelphia, providing a central hub for the groundbreaking innovations that happen here every day” said the Vice Dean.
“This physical space will allow faculty to more strongly support students who turn ideas into outcomes that will transform business for years to come,” he added.
