Dive Brief:
- The couple who founded the SOHO China real estate company is setting up a $100 million endowment to send poor Chinese children to elite universities around the world.
- SOHO’s chief executive, Zhang Xin, and her husband, Pan Shiyi, kicked off the endowment initiative with a $15 million gift to Harvard University.
- The couple is looking to set up similar endowments with other colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Dive Insight:
China had more than 235,000 students studying in the U.S. during the 2012-2013 school year, more than any other foreign country and up 21% from the year before. While some elite schools, including Harvard, offer substantial financial aid for foreign students, many don’t. Zhang said that many top U.S. schools recruit Chinese students who are attending high school here, sent by their wealthy parents, and she wants bright students from poor families who are still in China to apply and benefit from the new scholarship money. The Wall Street Journal notes that while China has the most billionaires of any country, its total charitable giving is just 4% of what U.S. donors give.