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Billionaire Barry Sternlicht is just the latest in a long list of prominent business figures to be losing faith in America’s elite universities due to all of the pro-Hamas/anti-Semitic protests on their campuses and the failure of the schools’ respective administrations to discipline the students who take part in them. Sternlicht is now threatening to pull the plug on his financial support for the Ivy League school Brown University, his alma mater.
He sent the New York Times what the publication described as a “scathing” e mail on the matter. In it, Barry Sternlicht called the students who are protesting against Israel “ignorant” and that “There should never be a vote when people do not have the facts. It’s not education, it’s propaganda.”
The 63-year-old businessman went on to ask “Where were the protests?” about the lack of campus outrage over real genocides that occurred around the world in places like Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
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He also defended Israel’s actions in Gaza writing, “As far as wars go, Israel has been quite muted.”
In addition, Barry Sternlicht wrote that students who “feel like Hamas is noble” should leave Brown University.
Brown is one of the many universities in America where anti-Israel protestors set up tents as part of demonstrations that call on their schools to divest themselves of investments in Israel. Schools like Brown have large endowments that are invested in a wide variety of holdings.
A spokesman for Brown said, “The university has not endorsed the divestment proposal. Whether it’s for or against divestment, the vote will bring clarity to an issue that is of longstanding interest to many members of our community.”
Barry Sternlicht is a prominent figure in the world of real estate investment. He is the founder and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. This investment firm, launched in 1991, manages over $100 billion in assets and focuses on real estate investments globally. In addition to Starwood Capital Group, Sternlicht chairs Starwood Property Trust, a real estate investment trust. He is credited with founding the trendy W Hotel chain, known for its modern design and focus on lifestyle.
Barry Sternlicht is a billionaire businessman and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard. His net worth is estimated to be around $3.8 billion as of 2024.
