Ohio State produces some wealthy alumni, but other Big Ten schools do better, according to a recent ranked report.
Wealth-X, a firm that evaluates global net worth, published a list of the universities with the highest number of wealthy alumni, and OSU was ranked 17th among public universities.
With 98 Ultra High Net Worth individuals, OSU was ranked behind several other Big Ten schools, including University of Michigan which has 410 wealthy alumni, Indiana University with 154 wealthy alumni and Purdue University with 127 wealthy alumni.
Ultra High Net Worth individuals are considered those who are worth at least $30 million in total assets.
“This validates that Ohio State belongs amongst the top American public universities,” said Dave Lincoln, the director of research at Wealth-X and an OSU alumnus.
Some students said the finding wasn’t a shock to them.
“It doesn’t really surprise me,” said Hannah Smith, a first-year in neuroscience. “I think Ohio State really pushes for success, especially for a public university.”
The data from Wealth-X shows the universities with the highest number of wealthy alumni from public, private and international universities.
Eight Big Ten schools were ranked in the top 20 listings with number of wealthy alumni ranging from 410 to 98.
Harvard University is ranked No. 1 globally and among private universities with 2,964 wealthy alumni and the University of Virginia topped the list of public universities with 499 alumni meeting the criteria.
Lincoln said private universities might offer more opportunities for some students, but success is ultimately up to the individual.
“The Ivies and other prominent universities may open more doors, but I wouldn’t necessarily declare that they have better education, or if you go to these universities, you’re going to be automatically rich because it all boils down to working hard,” Lincoln said.
The 98 wealthy OSU alumni include Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of Limited Brands and former chairman of the OSU Board of Trustees.
Another notable alumna is Huiyan Yang, the majority shareholder of Country Garden Holdings and the ninth wealthiest individual in China, according to Forbes magazine.
Wexner and Yang both had a net worth of $4.4 billion as of October 2012, according to Forbes magazine.
Kevin Bloomfield, a second-year in history and classics, said students at Ivy League or private universities might make better connections through the university, but their education most likely is not better.
“The quality of education you would get at an Ivy League, I would say is not much different than here,” Bloomfield said. “How many different ways can you teach calc(ulus) 100 or western antiquity?”
Wealth-X published the UHNW Alumni Ranking Special Reports based on data compiled over the past three years.
