Harvard gets biggest gift ever: $400M from Wall Street alum

BOSTON (AP) -- Harvard University has received its biggest gift in school history - a $400 million donation from a prominent Wall Street investor.

Harvard says the endowment from John Paulson will support the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which has led technology breakthroughs and is planning to expand. Paulson says it promises to become "the next major center of innovation."

Officials said Wednesday the science school will be renamed the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Paulson is a 1980 graduate of Harvard Business School and is founder and president of investment management firm Paulson & Co. He started the company with $2 million in 1994 and now manages more than $19 billion.

Harvard received the gift amid a $6.5 billion fundraising campaign that started in 2013.

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