Hedge Funds Charter Schools

Hedge Fund Managers Financing US Charter Schools

The hedge fund industry always receives attention for frauds or scandals so it's nice to see a story today about hedge funds helping the US education system. Hedge funds are taking a big role in financing charter schools, which are tax-funded, independently-operated schools. These charter schools are seen as a potential cure for the American education system, which has been criticized for lagging behind other nations. Hedge funds are among the benefactors of these new schools which require large donations from wealthy individuals, here's more on this trend:

“These guys get it,” said Eva S. Moskowitz, a former New York City Council member, whom Mr. Petry and Mr. Greenblatt hired in 2006 to run the Success Charter Network, for which they provide the financial muscle, including compensation for Ms. Moskowitz of $371,000 her first year. “They aren’t afraid of competition or upsetting the system. They thrive on that.”

Hedge fund managers may be better known for eight-figure incomes with which they scoop up the choicest Manhattan penthouses and Greenwich, Conn., waterfront estates. But they also dominate the boards of many of the city’s charters schools and support organizations. They include Whitney Tilson, who runs T2 Partners; David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital; Tony Davis of Anchorage Advisors; and Ravenel Boykin Curry IV of Eagle Capital Management.

The Tiger Foundation, started by the hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson, provides a large chunk of financing for several dozen charters across the city. Mr. Robertson’s son, Spencer, founded his own school last year, PAVE Academy in the Brooklyn, while his daughter-in-law, Sarah Robertson, is chairwoman of the Girls Preparatory Charter School on the Lower East Side. Source

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