Cornell Assets Hit $19.8 Billion in 2025 as Weill Cornell Clinical Care and $10.85 Billion Endowment Anchor $234,704 Per-Student Program Spend
By Data Team | Published November 5, 2026
Cornell University’s standalone total assets reached $19.80 billion in fiscal year 2025 ($20.81 billion consolidated), anchored by a $10.85 billion Form 990 endowment ($11.8 billion consolidated) whose $468.2 million in Schedule D outlays ($403.1 million in direct program and scholarship payouts) cover 6.2% of the university's $7.61 billion Form 990 expenses and 7.0% of its $6.73 billion core operating budget excluding non-operating legal accruals (while $498.3 million in total distributed investment return covers 8.0% of GAAP operating expenses), according to its latest IRS filing. Across 26,793 degree-seeking students, Cornell expends $234,704 per student in direct program services ($6.29 billion)—including $76,562 per student in regular session instruction and student aid ($2.05 billion), $133,389 per student across all non-clinical academic, research, and land-grant programs ($3.57 billion), and $283,952 per student in total enterprise expenditure ($7.61 billion).
Uniquely among Ivy League institutions, Cornell operates as both a private endowed university and the statutory federal land-grant institution of New York State, administering four contract colleges alongside Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech in New York City and a medical campus in Doha, Qatar. Student tuition, room, and board generated $1.74 billion ($65,127 per student), representing 23.3% of Cornell’s $7.48 billion total revenue. Clinical care delivered by the Weill Cornell Physician Organization ($1.71 billion), sponsored research grants and contracts ($1.23 billion), realized investment income ($992.8 million), private and government contributions ($693.6 million), and New York State and federal land-grant appropriations ($158.9 million) supply the majority of institutional funding.
This multi-pillar revenue structure supports broad financial aid access across both endowed and contract divisions. In FY25, Cornell disbursed $613.7 million in direct Form 990 Schedule I cash grants across 16,511 domestic recipients—representing 61.6% of its 26,793-student body (62.5% including 225 foreign grant recipients on Schedule F)—funding 8,037 undergraduates (49.8% of the undergraduate student body), 7,801 graduate students, and 673 Weill Cornell medical and graduate students.
Institutional & Governance Profile
Chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1865 under Ezra Cornell’s founding principle of "any person, any study" (Consolidated New York Education Law Article 115, Sections 5701–5716), Cornell University (EIN 15-0532082) is domiciled in Ithaca, New York. In addition to its private endowed colleges in Ithaca and Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, the university administers four New York State contract colleges on behalf of the State University of New York (Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labor Relations, and Veterinary Medicine), Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY, and Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan and Doha, Qatar.
Institutional Scale and Board Structure
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Founding & Workforce Scale: Founded in 1865, Cornell issued 48,311 Form W-2s in calendar year 2024, filed 46,160 Form 1096 vendor returns, and engaged 7,882 alumni and community volunteers across 39 state charitable registrations.
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Academic & Global Footprint: Cornell enrolls 26,793 degree-seeking students—comprising 16,128 undergraduates and 10,665 graduate and professional students—and conferred 9,155 degrees in FY25 (4,188 undergraduate, 4,015 master's, 634 Ph.D./J.S.D./D.M.A., 197 J.D., and 121 D.V.M.).
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Executive Leadership: President Michael I. Kotlikoff leads the university alongside Provost Kavita Bala, Provost for Medical Affairs and Weill Cornell Dean Robert Harrington, EVP and CFO Christopher J. Cowen, VP and General Counsel Donica Varner, and Chief Investment Officer Kenneth Miranda.
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Governing Board (Schedule O): The 64-member Board of Trustees (58 independent, chaired by Kraig H. Kayser) includes four ex-officio public and university officials (New York Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, and President Kotlikoff), the eldest lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell, three gubernatorial appointees, and trustees elected by alumni (8), faculty (2), students (2), staff (1), and the board.
Top-Line Financials
During FY25 (covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025), Cornell generated $14.35 billion in gross receipts and $7.48 billion in total Form 990 revenue (+14.2% YoY). Total standalone assets rose 6.4% to $19.80 billion and net assets increased 1.0% to $13.92 billion, with 78.1% held in donor-restricted funds ($10.87 billion) and 21.9% in unrestricted net assets ($3.05 billion). While Form 990 Part I Line 19 reports a net deficit of -$125.5 million, that figure reflects the inclusion of an $878.0 million non-operating legal contingency accrual reclassified onto Part IX Line 24a ("Legal Matters"); excluding that non-operating reserve, Cornell generated a core Form 990 operating surplus of $752.5 million.
Balance Sheet Strength
- Total Assets $19,796,267,550 (+6.4%)
- Total Liabilities $5,874,377,030 (+21.7%)
- Total Net Assets $13,921,890,520 (+1.0%)
- Donor-Restricted Net Assets $10,874,493,341 (78.1% of Total Net Assets)
- Unrestricted Net Assets $3,047,397,179 (21.9% of Total Net Assets)
Operating Performance
- Total Revenue $7,482,422,861 (+14.2%)
- Total Expenses $7,607,927,370 (+18.7%)
- Revenue Less Expenses -$125,504,509 (-188.3%)
- Unrealized Gains (Excluded) $414,562,048
Note: The -$125.5 million reported Form 990 deficit is driven by an $878.0 million non-operating legal matters accrual reclassified from the audited financial statements onto Form 990 Part IX Line 24a (excluding this accrual yields a +$752.5 million operating surplus). Adding $414.6 million in net unrealized investment gains and -$152.1 million in pension and split-interest adjustments reconciles the +$136.9 million net asset expansion on Part XI.
Revenue Breakdown
All four of Cornell’s primary revenue streams expanded in FY25. Program service revenue rose 11.0% to $5.76 billion (77.0% of total revenue), led by $1.71 billion in Weill Cornell Physician Organization clinical care services—which surpassed the $1.53 billion collected in student tuition—and $1.23 billion in sponsored research grants and contracts. Realized investment income surged 40.8% to $992.8 million on the strength of $785.8 million in net realized capital gains across $7.63 billion in gross securities sales, while contributions and grants rose 11.6% to $693.6 million.
Primary Revenue Streams
FY25 Revenue Distribution
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Program Service Revenue +11.0% YoY$5,760,927,835 (77.0%)
- Medical Services (Weill Cornell Physician Organization) $1,713,309,697
- Education: Student Tuition & Fees $1,532,117,749
- Grants & Contracts for Research ($960.0M Direct / $268.6M Indirect) $1,226,184,780
- All Other Program Service Revenue (Educational & Clinical Agreements) $917,610,205
- Auxiliary Enterprises: Student Room & Board $212,828,439
- Land-Grant Mission Government Appropriations $158,876,965
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Investment Income +40.8% YoY$992,789,578 (13.3%)
- Realized Net Capital Gains ($7.63B Gross Securities Sales) $785,792,280
- Dividends, Interest & Other Investment Income $206,997,298
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Contributions & Grants +11.6% YoY$693,552,308 (9.3%)
- Private Philanthropy, Alumni Gifts & Bequests $639,337,017
- Government Capital Appropriations & Grants $41,640,284
- Related Organizations (Cornell University Foundation) & Events $12,575,007
- Noncash Gifts Included Above (819 Stock Gifts, 26 Art Works, 39 Horses, 5 Crypto) $72,758,114
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Other Revenue +1.4% YoY$35,153,140 (0.5%)
- Intellectual Property Royalties $22,420,516
- Net Sales of Inventory ($29.18M Gross Sales less $18.39M COGS) $10,796,331
- Net Rental Income ($6.22M Gross Rents) & Net Event Adjustments $1,936,293
Endowment Performance and Asset Allocation
Managed by Cornell’s Office of University Investments under Chief Investment Officer Kenneth Miranda, Cornell’s standalone endowment reported on Form 990 Schedule D (Part V) reached $10.85 billion ($10,845,029,996) at the close of FY25, up 9.6% year-over-year ($11.8 billion across consolidated university and trust holdings, which returned 12.3% in FY25). Across the entire balance sheet (Part X, Lines 11 and 12), Cornell holds $11.61 billion in total invested securities—comprising $2.44 billion in publicly traded securities and $9.17 billion in other securities and alternative partnerships reported on Schedule D, Part VII (plus $1.13 billion in cash and temporary cash investments).
To execute its global multi-asset strategy, Cornell holds $3.00 billion in foreign-domiciled investment vehicles reported on Schedule F—led by $2.70 billion in Central America and the Caribbean, $190.0 million in Europe, $79.8 million in North America (Canada and Mexico), and $35.9 million in Sub-Saharan Africa—and reported $50.9 million in gross unrelated business revenue on Part I, Line 7a ($0 net taxable on Form 990-T). Because Cornell’s standalone endowment equates to $404,771 per student across 26,793 enrolled students, the university falls below the $500,000 per-student statutory threshold and is exempt from the federal IRC Section 4968 endowment excise tax (Form 990, Part V, Line 16).
Portfolio Performance & Asset Allocation ($11.61B Total Invested Securities / $10.85B Standalone Endowment)
Part X & Schedule D, Part VII Allocation
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Endowment Balance (EOY): $10,845,029,996 standalone (+9.6% YoY; $11.8B consolidated), representing $404,771 per enrolled student across 26,793 students.
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Net Investment Gains: $1,188,397,636 in Schedule D endowment investment earnings (+51.1% YoY from $786.4M in FY24, reflecting a 12.3% annual return).
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Alternative & Offshore Capital: 79.0% ($9.17B) of Cornell's $11.61B securities portfolio is held in Schedule D, Part VII non-public and institutional vehicles, with $2.70B domiciled in Central American and Caribbean funds.
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Total Payout & Budget Coverage: $468,248,093 in total Schedule D endowment outlays ($324.1M for facilities and academic programs, $79.0M for scholarships, and $65.2M in administrative expenses), covering 6.2% of total Form 990 expenses and 7.0% of core Form 990 operating expenses excluding the $878M legal accrual (while $403.1M in direct program/scholarship payouts covers 5.3% of total Form 990 expenses and $498.3M in total GAAP distributed investment return covers 8.0% of GAAP operating expenses).
Detailed Asset Mix ($11.61B Invested Securities on Part X, Lines 11 & 12)
5-Year Endowment History
Schedule D, Part V documents the 62.4% five-year expansion of Cornell’s standalone endowment from a $6.68 billion opening balance in FY21 to $10.85 billion at the end of FY25. Over that five-year span, the endowment received $1.20 billion in new donor contributions and generated $4.90 billion in net investment earnings—anchored by a $2.70 billion post-pandemic gain in FY21 and $1.19 billion in FY25 net earnings. Over the same period, the endowment disbursed $1.95 billion across student scholarships ($336.8 million), academic programs and facilities ($1.31 billion), and investment and administrative management ($291.3 million). At year-end FY25, 78% of the endowment was held as permanent donor-restricted endowment, 17% as board-designated quasi-endowment, and 5% as term endowment.
FY25 Endowment Waterfall (Schedule D, Part V)
Visualizing the bridge from Beginning of Year (1a) to End of Year (1g) in billions.
5-Year Historical Endowment Balances (Line 1g)
End of year balance progression in billions (FY21 - FY25).
| IRS Line Item | FY25 (Current) | FY24 (Prior) | FY23 (2 Yrs Back) | FY22 (3 Yrs Back) | FY21 (4 Yrs Back) |
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| 1a. Beginning of year | $9,894,868,187 | $9,296,613,659 | $9,109,777,903 | $9,230,316,421 | $6,678,526,938 |
| 1b. Contributions | $230,012,266 | $226,336,495 | $247,365,398 | $282,764,614 | $212,788,526 |
| 1c. Net investment earnings | $1,188,397,636 | $786,369,502 | $315,463,790 | ($92,945,525) | $2,704,871,491 |
| 1d. Grants or scholarships | ($78,973,081) | ($72,673,028) | ($67,407,078) | ($59,332,046) | ($58,390,650) |
| 1e. Other expenditures | ($324,098,189) | ($282,524,694) | ($256,483,851) | ($201,002,344) | ($242,703,854) |
| 1f. Administrative expenses | ($65,176,823) | ($59,253,747) | ($52,102,503) | ($50,023,217) | ($64,776,030) |
| 1g. End of year balance | $10,845,029,996 | $9,894,868,187 | $9,296,613,659 | $9,109,777,903 | $9,230,316,421 |
Per-Student Spending and True Cost
Standard university financial analysis benchmarks per-student spending against direct program service expenses reported on Form 990 Part III (Line 4e) and Part IX (Column B, Line 25). Across its 26,793 degree-seeking students (16,128 undergraduates and 10,665 graduate and professional students), Cornell expended $6,288,436,243 in total direct program services in FY25—equating to $234,704 per student ($199,792 net per student excluding $925.4 million in student aid and research sub-grants). Excluding Weill Cornell Medicine’s $2.71 billion clinical and physician training division (Line 4a), Cornell’s direct academic instruction, sponsored research, student aid, and land-grant program spend (Lines 4b–4d) totals $3,573,913,243, or $133,389 per student, while regular session instruction and student financial aid alone (Line 4b) accounts for $2,051,318,000, or $76,562 per student ($53,657 net excluding $613.7 million in domestic student aid).
By comparison, baseline student tuition ($1,532,117,749) and auxiliary room and board ($212,828,439) generated $1,744,946,188, or $65,127 per student before financial aid discounts. Baseline student charges therefore cover just 27.7% of Cornell’s $234,704 per-student direct program service expenditure ($6.29 billion) and 48.8% of its $133,389 per-student non-clinical academic and research program spend ($3.57 billion). The remaining $169,577 per-student total program gap ($68,262 per student across non-clinical academic and research programs) is financed by clinical practice inflows, sponsored research awards, New York State and federal land-grant appropriations ($158.9 million), donor gifts, and endowment distributions. When management overhead ($1.25 billion, including the $878.0 million legal accrual) and fundraising ($64.7 million) are included, Cornell’s total enterprise expenditure reaches $7,607,927,370, or $283,952 per student ($251,182 per student excluding the legal accrual).
Operations vs. Revenue
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Total Direct Program Service Spend (Part III, Line 4e & Part IX, Col. B): $6,288,436,243 across 26,793 students ($234,704 per student across all program services; $133,389 per student or $3,573,913,243 across non-clinical academic, research, and land-grant programs).
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Regular Session Instruction & Total Enterprise Spend (Line 4b & Part IX, Col. A): $2,051,318,000 in regular session academic instruction and student aid ($76,562 gross per student; $53,657 net excluding $613.7M in domestic student grants), and $7,607,927,370 in overall institutional spend ($283,952 per student; $251,182 per student excluding the $878.0M legal accrual).
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Tuition & Room/Board Revenue: $1,744,946,188 ($65,127 per student before financial aid discounts: $57,183 tuition and $7,943 room and board), covering 27.7% of total direct program service expenditure and 48.8% of non-clinical academic and research program expenditure.
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Medical Services & Sponsored Research (Lines 4a & 4c): $2,714,523,000 in Weill Cornell Medicine clinical care and physician training ($101,315 per student; $1,713,309,697 in clinical practice revenue) and $1,226,184,780 in sponsored research and public outreach ($45,765 per student, matched by $960.0M in direct research awards and $268.6M in indirect cost recovery).
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Land-Grant Mission, Museum & Global Programs (Line 4d, Schedule D & F): $296,410,463 in land-grant extension, auxiliary housing, and academic conferences; $149,800,787 in capitalized artworks at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; and $221.6M in international program and grant expenditures across 13 foreign offices and 660 overseas personnel (anchored by $165.4M and 419 employees at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar and $14.3M across 10 offices and 115 staff in Europe).
Financial Aid: How Cornell Deploys $619M in Direct Student Grants
Guided by its 1865 charter commitment to "any person, any study," Cornell practices need-blind admissions for domestic undergraduate applicants (U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and eligible undocumented/DACA students) and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted undergraduates through institutional grants, endowed scholarships, and federal work-study. In addition to undergraduate aid, Weill Cornell Medicine operates a debt-free medical scholarship initiative that replaces student loans with scholarships for M.D. students with demonstrated financial need.
On Form 990 Schedule I (Part III), Cornell reports $613,679,591 in direct cash grants across 16,511 domestic students—representing 61.6% of its 26,793-student body—alongside $5,371,169 across 225 international student financial aid and travel fellowship recipients on Schedule F (bringing total aided student share to 62.5%, or 16,736 recipients receiving $619,050,760). Domestic Schedule I disbursements include $424,587,420 to 8,037 undergraduates (49.8% of the undergraduate student body, averaging $52,829 per recipient), $153,102,917 to 7,801 graduate students (73.1% of graduate students, averaging $19,626), $18,156,174 to 222 Weill Cornell M.D. students ($81,785 average grant), and $17,833,080 to 451 medical graduate students ($39,541 average grant).
Internal Student Support (Schedule I & F)
- Aided Student Share (Schedule I) 61.6% (16,511 domestic; 62.5% w/ intl)
- Undergraduate / Graduate Aid Rate 49.8% Undergrad / 73.1% Grad
- Undergraduate Financial Aid (8,037 students) $424,587,420 ($52,829 avg.)
- Graduate & Medical Aid (8,474 students) $189,092,171 ($81,785 MD avg.)
- Total Domestic Student Cash Grants $613,679,591 ($37,168 avg.)
Endowment Aid & External Sub-Grants
- Endowment Scholarship Payouts & International Aid ($84,344,250) Includes $78,973,081 in dedicated Schedule D endowment scholarship distributions (up +8.7% YoY) plus $5,371,169 in Schedule F grants across 225 international students ($3.88M in Europe, $617K in South America, and $576K in East Asia).
- Domestic & Foreign Institutional Grants ($306,388,667) Comprises $126,750,260 in Schedule I grants to 336 domestic universities, hospitals, and municipal agencies (led by Memorial Sloan Kettering [$5.75M], Columbia [$4.53M], UIUC [$3.38M], and SUNY Research Foundation [$2.95M]) and $179,638,407 in Schedule F foreign institutional subawards across 100 charities.
Executive and Clinical Leadership Compensation
Cornell’s Schedule J disclosures underscore the weight of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Manhattan clinical enterprise within the university's overall payroll structure. The seven highest-compensated individuals at Cornell in FY25 were all Weill Cornell Medicine clinical specialists and medical executives—led by Reproductive Medicine Director Dr. Zev Rosenwaks ($9,740,096), Cardiothoracic Surgery Chair Dr. Leonard Girardi ($6,751,176), Associate Professor Dr. Hey-Joo Kang ($5,976,241), Spine Surgeon Dr. Kiehyun Daniel Riew ($5,798,882), Neurosurgery Professor Dr. Roger Hartl ($4,505,406), Physician Organization CEO Dr. Robert J. Min ($2,947,962), and Provost for Medical Affairs and Dean Dr. Robert Harrington ($2,710,978).
Outside the medical college, Chief Investment Officer Kenneth Miranda was the highest-paid non-clinical officer at $2,222,322 ($1,022,564 base salary plus $1,198,225 in formula-driven investment incentive and supplemental pay), followed by former President Martha E. Pollack ($1,813,124), current President Michael I. Kotlikoff ($1,405,700), and EVP and CFO Christopher J. Cowen ($1,016,001). Because Cornell pays remuneration exceeding $1 million to covered officers and clinical faculty, the university is subject to the federal IRC Section 4960 21% excise tax on excess executive compensation (Form 990, Part V, Line 15).
Payroll Scale and Compensation Governance
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Total Institutional Payroll: Cornell expended $4,212,886,881 in total salaries, wages, pensions, and benefits in FY25 (+7.6% YoY, representing 55.4% of total Form 990 expenses and 62.6% of core operating expenses excluding the legal accrual) across 48,311 W-2 employees, with 8,057 staff members earning over $100,000.
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Board Compensation Governance (Schedule O): The Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer benchmarks executive pay using independent external consulting firms; any proposed package exceeding market benchmarks requires a separate third-party reasonableness opinion letter prior to review by the Compensation Committee and final approval by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
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Campus Housing, Severance & Interested-Person Transactions (Schedule J & L): Both the University President and the Provost for Medical Affairs are required to reside in university-provided housing as a condition of employment, while CIO Kenneth Miranda and Dr. Zev Rosenwaks received taxable housing allowances and former Medical Provost Augustine M.K. Choi received $208,883 in severance. On Schedule L, Part IV, Cornell disclosed five family-member employee compensation relationships totaling $1,151,006 and a $1,973,372 commercial lease with South Hill Business Campus LLC (affiliated with life trustee Ezra Cornell).
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Form 990, Schedule J, Part II: Compensation Breakdown — All 18 Listed Individuals (FY25)
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| Name & Title (A) | Base Comp (B-i) | Bonus (B-ii) | Other (B-iii) | Retirement & Deferred (C) | Nontaxable Benefits (D) | Total (E) | Prior Deferred (F) |
| Zev Rosenwaks, MDAcademic Professor, WCM | $368,657 | $0 | $9,302,425 | $33,570 | $35,444 | $9,740,096 | $0 |
| Leonard Girardi, MDAcademic Chair, WCM | $484,530 | $1,155 | $6,214,049 | $33,570 | $17,872 | $6,751,176 | $0 |
| Hey-Joo Kang, MDAssociate Professor Clinical, WCM | $72,119 | $0 | $5,823,831 | $23,070 | $57,221 | $5,976,241 | $0 |
| Kiehyun Daniel Riew, MDAssistant Professor, WCM | $158,908 | $0 | $5,551,217 | $33,570 | $55,187 | $5,798,882 | $0 |
| Roger Hartl, MDClinical Professor, WCM | $184,980 | $0 | $4,240,957 | $33,570 | $45,899 | $4,505,406 | $0 |
| Robert J. Min, MDPres. & CEO of Physician Org, WCM | $380,340 | $0 | $2,515,224 | $33,570 | $18,828 | $2,947,962 | $0 |
| Robert Harrington, MDProvost for Medical Affairs & Dean | $1,321,485 | $0 | $1,345,168 | $7,269 | $37,056 | $2,710,978 | $0 |
| Kenneth MirandaChief Investment Officer | $1,022,564 | $75,830 | $1,122,395 | $0 | $1,533 | $2,222,322 | $0 |
| Martha E. PollackFormer President | $1,552,069 | $0 | $206,773 | $34,500 | $19,782 | $1,813,124 | $0 |
| Michael I. KotlikoffPresident & Trustee | $1,218,997 | $0 | $79,691 | $77,400 | $29,612 | $1,405,700 | $0 |
| Thomas StokesVP for Finance / CFO, WCM | $872,139 | $77,665 | $308,333 | $33,570 | $49,253 | $1,340,960 | $0 |
| Augustine M.K. Choi, MDFormer Provost Medical Affairs & Dean | $496,849 | $0 | $711,862 | $18,173 | $8,799 | $1,235,683 | $0 |
| Cathy E. GarzioExec Vice Provost & COO, WCM | $917,603 | $50,000 | $74,777 | $0 | $32,484 | $1,074,864 | $0 |
| Christopher J. CowenEVP & Chief Financial Officer | $870,001 | $0 | $99,251 | $34,500 | $12,249 | $1,016,001 | $0 |
| Donica VarnerVP & General Counsel | $773,714 | $0 | $48,683 | $34,500 | $17,980 | $874,877 | $0 |
| Francis Lee, MDFormer Interim Dean, WCM | $386,488 | $0 | $448,429 | $0 | $0 | $834,917 | $0 |
| Kavita BalaProvost | $519,695 | $0 | $0 | $34,500 | $1,533 | $555,728 | $0 |
| Scott PiccinoFormer CFO & Assoc. Treasurer, WCM | $58,630 | $149,580 | $12,500 | $0 | $0 | $220,710 | $0 |
Facilities, Debt, and Municipal Relations
Cornell’s physical plant spans its 2,300-acre main campus on East Hill in Ithaca, the Cornell AgriTech campus in Geneva, NY, the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, and Weill Cornell Medicine facilities on Manhattan's Upper East Side. To finance laboratory modernization, student residences, and clinical facilities without depleting endowment principal, Cornell pairs capital gifts and state appropriations ($41.6 million in FY25) with tax-exempt municipal bonds issued through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) and commercial paper facilities.
In its home municipality of Ithaca, where tax-exempt university land and academic buildings make up a majority of assessed property value, Cornell’s town-gown fiscal footprint combines a renegotiated $4.0 million annual voluntary PILOT contribution to the City of Ithaca (effective FY25 through 2039), direct funding to the Ithaca City School District and Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT), and localized Schedule I research and community sub-grants across Tompkins County and New York State’s county Cooperative Extension network.
Capital Debt & Municipal Engagement
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Physical Plant & Campus Operations: Cornell holds $10.23 billion in gross land, buildings, and equipment ($4.79 billion net book value after $5.45 billion in accumulated depreciation), recording $197.5 million in annual occupancy costs, $89.2 million in maintenance, and $313.8 million in depreciation.
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Tax-Exempt Bonds & Institutional Debt (Schedule K): The university carries $1.15 billion in tax-exempt DASNY bond liabilities (led by the $674.6M Series 2024A, $306.7M Series 2019ABC, $292.7M Series 2020A, $161.4M Series 2019D, $153.7M Series 2016A, $102.1M Series 2020A-2, and $10.5M Series 2025CP commercial paper), $1.28 billion in unsecured notes and loans, $128.7 million in bond premiums, and $601.5 million in operating and finance lease liabilities, paying $50.5 million in FY25 interest expense.
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Schedule I Grants, Town-Gown PILOT Payments & Municipal Relations: Under its renegotiated MOU with the City of Ithaca, Cornell committed $4.0M annually (indexed to inflation through 2039) in municipal PILOT support alongside TCAT transit and school district contributions, lobbied officials in Washington, Albany, NYC, and Ithaca ($927,918 on Schedule C), and disbursed $126.8M in Schedule I grants—including local awards to the Boyce Thompson Institute ($1.60M), Duffield Hall deep-tech startups REEgen ($225K), Soctera ($162.3K), and Gallox Semiconductors ($52K), Geegah ($183.7K), Local First Ithaca ($90K), the Ithaca Sciencenter ($71.3K), AguaClara Reach ($47.4K), Paleontological Research Institution ($27.1K), Ithaca College ($24.5K), and 10 county Cornell Cooperative Extension associations ($167.4K).
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Top Independent Contractors: Among 302 contractors paid over $100,000 in FY25, Cornell's five highest-compensated vendors were LeChase Construction Services ($58.47M for campus construction), Gemini Consulting & Services ($10.32M), 575 Lex Property Owner LLC ($9.47M for NYC real estate management), AbbVie US LLC ($6.96M for pharmaceutical consulting), and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP ($6.53M for legal services).
Editorial Note
All financial figures in this report derive from Cornell University’s FY25 IRS Form 990 (covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 across 26,793 degree-seeking students—16,128 undergraduates and 10,665 graduate and professional students) and have been reviewed by the data team.
While Cornell expends $234,704 per student in direct program services ($133,389 per student across non-clinical academic, research, and land-grant programs, $76,562 per student in regular session instruction and student aid, and $283,952 per student in total enterprise expenditure), Chicardgo School does not imply that financial expenditure mathematically causes specific postgraduate earnings or academic outcomes. Rather, these capital resources fund the laboratory infrastructure, land-grant outreach, need-blind domestic undergraduate admissions, and clinical training programs that operate alongside Cornell’s student selectivity.
Accounting Reconciliation: Readers comparing Cornell’s PwC-audited consolidated GAAP financial statements ($6.47B in total revenues and gains; $6.26B in operating expenses; $20.81B in total assets) to IRS Form 990 ($7.48B in total revenue; $7.61B in total expenses; $19.80B in total assets) will note four structural reconciliation items detailed on Schedule D (Parts XI and XII) and Schedule O. First, on Cornell's audited GAAP Statement of Activities, $878,000,000 in "Legal Matters" is recorded below the operating line inside non-operating expenses, whereas on Form 990 (Schedule D, Part XI Line 2d and Part XII Line 4b) it is reclassified into Management and General functional expenses (Part IX, Line 24a), driving the shift from a near-breakeven GAAP operating margin (-$12.3M) to a -$125.5M Form 990 net deficit (and lifting deferred revenue and liabilities on Part X Line 19 from $689.6M to $1.52B). Second, GAAP statements net $574.7M in tuition scholarship allowances and $22.0M in housing and dining allowances directly against gross student revenues, whereas Form 990 grosses up tuition revenue and records student aid ($613.7M domestic on Part IX Line 2 and $5.4M foreign on Line 3) as functional operating expenses. Third, per Schedule O (Pages 70–71), Form 990 deconsolidates Cornell's related subsidiaries—removing $72.5M in subsidiary expenses (Schedule D, Part XII Line 2d) while reporting 11 related tax-exempt organizations (including the Cornell University Foundation [$12.0M grant] and Samuel Curtis Johnson Foundation [$4.2M grant]), 7 real estate and investment partnerships (including Hudson Cornell Residential JV LLC [$98.2M loan / $110.9M assets]), and 8 corporations and trusts (including University Veterinary Specialists Inc. [$28.1M income / $2.6M dividend]) on Schedule R. Fourth, Form 990 excludes $414.6M in net unrealized investment gains and -$154.2M in pension valuation changes from Part VIII operating revenue (reporting them on Part XI, Lines 5 and 9) while netting rental expenses ($3.9M), inventory COGS ($18.4M), fundraising event costs ($671.4K), and non-security asset disposal losses (-$8.0M) directly against gross receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions: Cornell's Form 990 Financials
As of Fiscal Year 2025, Cornell University's standalone endowment reported on Form 990 Schedule D stands at $10.85 billion ($10,845,029,996), up 9.6% year-over-year ($11.8 billion across consolidated university and trust holdings). Total Schedule D endowment outlays of $468.2 million ($403.1 million in direct program and scholarship payouts plus $65.2 million in administrative fees) cover 6.2% of total Form 990 expenses and 7.0% of core operating expenses excluding non-operating legal accruals (while $498.3 million in total GAAP distributed investment return covers 8.0% of GAAP operating expenses).
Cornell spends $234,704 per student annually in direct program services ($6.29 billion across 26,793 students), compared to $65,127 per student generated in baseline tuition, room, and board. Excluding Weill Cornell Medicine clinical patient care ($2.71 billion), direct academic, research, and land-grant program spend is $133,389 per student ($3.57 billion), while regular session instruction and student financial aid (Part III, Line 4b) is $76,562 per student ($2.05 billion). Overall enterprise expenditure including management overhead and fundraising reaches $283,952 per student ($7.61 billion, or $251,182 per student excluding the $878 million legal accrual).
On Form 990 Schedule I, Cornell reported $613.7 million ($613,679,591) in direct cash grants across 16,511 domestic students—representing 61.6% of its 26,793-student body—plus $5.4 million across 225 international recipients on Schedule F (62.5% combined aided student share). Domestic financial aid comprises $424.6 million for 8,037 undergraduates (49.8% of all undergraduates, averaging $52,829 per recipient), $153.1 million for 7,801 graduate students, and $36.0 million for 673 Weill Cornell medical and graduate students.
The highest-paid employee is Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Academic Professor and Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, who received $9,740,096 in total compensation in FY25, followed by Weill Cornell Cardiothoracic Surgery Chair Dr. Leonard Girardi ($6,751,176) and Associate Professor Dr. Hey-Joo Kang ($5,976,241). Chief Investment Officer Kenneth Miranda was the highest-paid non-clinical officer at $2,222,322.
No. On Form 990 Part V (Line 16), Cornell reports that it is not subject to the IRC Section 4968 excise tax on net investment income. Because Cornell enrolls 26,793 students across its endowed and New York State land-grant contract colleges, its $10.85 billion standalone endowment equates to $404,771 per student—remaining below the $500,000 per-student statutory threshold.
Cornell University's standalone total assets reached $19.80 billion ($19,796,267,550) in Fiscal Year 2025 (+6.4% YoY), anchored by $11.61 billion in total invested securities ($9.17 billion in alternatives and other securities plus $2.44 billion in publicly traded securities), $4.79 billion in net physical plant, and $1.13 billion in cash and temporary cash investments ($20.81 billion in consolidated GAAP assets).
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