Malcolm Gladwell mercilessly mocks John Paulson’s obscene $400 million gift to Harvard

New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell doesn't tweet a whole lot. He made an exception after hedge fund billionaire and financial crisis profiteer John Paulson's ludicrous $400 million donation to Harvard, which is naming its engineering school after him in exchange.

It came down to helping the poor or giving the world's richest university $400 mil it doesn't need. Wise choice John! http://t.co/2bFmuTy397

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

Next up for John Paulson: volunteering at the Hermes store on Madison avenue. Let's make this a truly world class retail outlet!

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

Working the coat check at Art basel. They're short staffed!

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

If billionaires don't step up, Harvard will soon be down to its last $30 billion.

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

Apparently $200 mil is earmarked for a satellite campus on St Barts.

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

It's going to be named the John Paulson School of Financial Engineering

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

Harvard's pitch to Paulson: not all privileged people are equally privileged!

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

Paulson to Harvard: is there a way to give back without actually giving anything back?

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) June 3, 2015

In conjunction with this golden oldie:

This sums up everything you need to know about people who went to Harvard. pic.twitter.com/TwtCT1iOo5

— Gladwell (@Gladwell) August 28, 2013

… that makes nine tweets attacking Harvard out of 134 total — 6.7 percent of all of Gladwell's tweets, in other words, concern Harvard. The school is certainly a worthy target: it's no use as a charity, and Paulson's money would be better spent basically anywhere else.

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