University Of Pennsylvania Denies Antisemitism Accusations Made By Billionaire Board Member

Topline

The University of Pennsylvania defended its president and board chair against calls for their resignation, after a billionaire alumnus argued the school has given safe harbor to antisemitic rhetoric—the latest college clash amid an Israel-Gaza conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands.

Rowan is the CEO of Apollo Global Management. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Marc Rowan, the billionaire CEO of Apollo Global Management and chair of the Wharton School’s board of advisors, accused the university of antisemitism in an op-ed Wednesday and called for alumni and donors to “close their checkbooks until President Liz Magill and Chairman Scott Bok resign.”

Rowan specifically took issue with a Palestinian literature festival held on campus last month, saying speakers at the event “advocated ethnic cleansing of Jews, referred to them as ‘European settlers,’ and repeated various blood libels.”

Julie Platt, vice chair of Penn’s board of trustees, expressed support for Magill and Bok in an emailed statement and said the board “unanimously endorsed the actions taken by the University.”

Platt also expressed solidarity with those impacted by “the horrific assault on Israel by Hamas” and condemned the “hateful acts of terror.”

Crucial Quote

“Mr. Rowan is a respected alumnus and benefactor of the University and is entitled to his views,” Bok told Forbes. “But it is a falsehood for him to say that the University sought to “purge” dissenting Trustees from Penn’s Board in relation to the Palestinian Writes Literature Festival.”

Contra

“[Magill and Bok] have created a culture of intimidation and fear of speaking out against this status quo,” Rowan said in the op-ed. “At present, they are organizing attacks on me and my Jewish fellow trustees for speaking out.”

Key Background

Several universities across the U.S. have been the sites of contentious debates around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many of which involve friction between student organizations and university administrations. Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier released a statement early this week saying there was a “deeply layered and nuanced complexity” to the conflict. The statement received harsh pushback on X, formerly known as Twitter. At Harvard, a group of student organizations known as the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee said the “Israeli Regime” was “responsible for all the unfolding violence.” Former Harvard president Larry H. Summers said on X two days later that silence from Harvard leadership and the student groups’ statement “allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.” Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, said on X he was asked by “a number of CEOs” to request the names of the members of the Harvard organizations blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack, saying “one should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists.”

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Rowan’s net worth at $5.8 billion, placing him within the top 500 wealthiest people in the world.