Billionaire Stephen Ross To Get His Desired FL Ivy League. Vanderbilt's $520 Mil. Proposal Approved.

Photo byGK tramrunner229, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I often write about how billionaires such as Ken Griffin, Barry Sternlicht, John Paulson, Barry Sternlicht, and Stephen Ross affect life in Florida. One very concrete way that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has touched Florida is in his efforts to get an Ivy League college in the Sunshine State, about which I've previously written. And now, it appears that he will get his wish, as Vanderbilt's proposal to build a new campus in Florida has been approved.

Ross' Fundraising Efforts To Get Vanderbilt In Florida And Vanderbilt's Pitch: In April of 2024, Ross attempted to raise monies to get a Florida Ivy League by hosting elite patrons and raising around $100 million toward the cause. (Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier reportedly was in attendance.)

In late August of 2024, officials from Vanderbilt University proposed a 300,000 square feet, $519.6 million campus that the University estimated would create an economic impact of $7 billion over two and a half decades and would eventually create around 35,000 jobs.

The Proposal Was Unanimously Approved - Florida Will Reportedly Get A Vanderbilt Campus: On August 20, 2024, The Palm Beach County Commission unanimously approved Vanderbilt's proposal to build a graduate campus in downtown West Palm Beach.

J. Nathan Green, vice chancellor of government and community relations at Vanderbilt, offered assurances that Vanderbilt would prioritize the Florida campus, explaining:

“It is not a satellite campus. It is a second campus. We will be as committed to this community as we are in Nashville.”

Billionaire Stephen Ross was on hand to support the project. He spoke about the importance of Florida having great schools, noting, in part:

"...Florida is the best business state in this country. Businesses looking to come to Florida are looking to come to South Florida, but the other counties don’t have the opportunity to grow like Palm Beach County is growing. In order to do that, you need to have great schools...You won’t find a better school in the country that will bring more prominence to this area than Vanderbilt University."

The author is not affiliated with Vanderbilt or any other universities.