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Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million. Note That Number.
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million. Note That Number.
A quarter century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
More than two decades ago, Donald Trump tried to persuade Columbia University to expand its campus on land he owned. The school declined. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
By Matthew Haag and Katherine Rosman
March 21, 2025
Updated 7:16 p.m. ET
Donald Trump was demanding $400 million from Columbia University. … When he did not get his way, he stormed out of a meeting with university trustees and later publicly castigated the university president as “a dummy” and “a total moron.” … That drama dates back 25 years.
Today, these two New York City institutions — the ostentatious billionaire president of the United States and the 270-year-old Ivy League university that has cultivated 87 Nobel laureates — are locked in an extraordinary clash. The future of higher education and academic freedom dangle in the balance.
But the first battle between Mr. Trump and Columbia involved the most New York of New York prizes — a lucrative real estate deal, according to interviews with 17 real estate investors and former university administrators and insiders, as well as contemporaneous news articles.
Some former university officials are quietly wondering whether the ultimately unsuccessful property transaction sowed the seeds of Mr. Trump’s current focus on Columbia. His administration has demanded that the university turn over vast control of its policies and even curricular decisions in its effort to quell antisemitism on campus. It has also canceled federal grants and contracts at Columbia — valued at $400 million. … The Trump Organization and the White House declined to comment.
{snip}
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Matthew Haag writes about the intersection of real estate and politics in the New York region. He has been a journalist for two decades. More about Matthew Haag
https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-haag
Katherine Rosman covers newsmakers, power players and individuals making an imprint on New York City. More about Katherine Rosman
https://www.nytimes.com/by/katherine-rosman
A quarter century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
More than two decades ago, Donald Trump tried to persuade Columbia University to expand its campus on land he owned. The school declined. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
By Matthew Haag and Katherine Rosman
March 21, 2025
Updated 7:16 p.m. ET
Donald Trump was demanding $400 million from Columbia University. … When he did not get his way, he stormed out of a meeting with university trustees and later publicly castigated the university president as “a dummy” and “a total moron.” … That drama dates back 25 years.
Today, these two New York City institutions — the ostentatious billionaire president of the United States and the 270-year-old Ivy League university that has cultivated 87 Nobel laureates — are locked in an extraordinary clash. The future of higher education and academic freedom dangle in the balance.
But the first battle between Mr. Trump and Columbia involved the most New York of New York prizes — a lucrative real estate deal, according to interviews with 17 real estate investors and former university administrators and insiders, as well as contemporaneous news articles.
Some former university officials are quietly wondering whether the ultimately unsuccessful property transaction sowed the seeds of Mr. Trump’s current focus on Columbia. His administration has demanded that the university turn over vast control of its policies and even curricular decisions in its effort to quell antisemitism on campus. It has also canceled federal grants and contracts at Columbia — valued at $400 million. … The Trump Organization and the White House declined to comment.
{snip}
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Matthew Haag writes about the intersection of real estate and politics in the New York region. He has been a journalist for two decades. More about Matthew Haag
https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-haag
Katherine Rosman covers newsmakers, power players and individuals making an imprint on New York City. More about Katherine Rosman
https://www.nytimes.com/by/katherine-rosman
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