Billionaire John Paulson rips elite Spence school for ‘anti-white indoctrination’
Paulson said he is one of the largest financial supporters of Spence, but threatened to withdraw his aid
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Billionaire hedge funder John Paulson protested against ultra-elite Manhattan school Spence for what he claims was an “alarming pattern” of “anti-white indoctrination” in its curriculum.
Paulson, 64, who famously made millions betting against the American housing market prior to the 2008 financial crisis and was an economic adviser to President Trump, wrote a 2017 letter to prestigious all-girls’ school Spence, attended by his two daughters. Famous Spence alums include Gwyneth Paltrow, Kerry Washington, Emmy Rossum, Bee Shaffer and Jade Jagger.
It reads, “In recent years we have reached out on several occasions to discuss a disturbing trend in one area of the curriculum that we believe is having a negative impact on our daughters’ education. As we’ve noted before, there appears to be an anti-white indoctrination that permeates many parts of the Spence curriculum.”
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The letter, signed by Paulson — said to be worth $4.2 billion — and his wife Jenny continues, “We have visited you in person and sent letters detailing some of the curriculum materials that we came across by chance and found very troubling. Last year, we highlighted sections from assigned passages in 8th grade English. These included: in ‘Indian Education,’ the white teacher is a mean, ugly redheaded monster and a white father rapes his daughter.
“We also expressed our deep disappointment last September at the school play when two white girls pushed a black girl because she didn’t summer in South or East Hampton. In past years, we also contacted you about the story of ‘When Richer Weds Poorer’ … where the protagonist said that it was amazing that rich people could be nice.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 12: Hedge fund manager John Paulson attends US President Donald Trump's speech at the Economic Club of New York on November 12, 2019 in New York City. Trump, speaking to business leaders and others in the financial commu … (Getty Images)
“We were left with the impression that it was possible to promote diversity in ways that were neither inflammatory nor discriminatory towards whites.”
But, “Now we find ourselves writing to you again to raise yet another example in what has become an alarming pattern … the subject of ‘Courageous Conversations Conversation Compass’ given to the seventh-grade class. The student writings provided are designed, we believe, to promote anti-white indoctrination.
“We believe these materials send the wrong message to students about the values they should adopt to lead prosperous lives. The advantages enjoyed by most individuals from middle or upper-income backgrounds today are the result of stable family backgrounds, high education levels, hard work, and personal responsibility.
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“To attribute them to their race entails a blindness to the values that we rightly want to cultivate in our children. Our daughters are successful in school because they are disciplined and work hard.
“We think it is wrong to imply they are successful because they are white. We also think it is harmful to indoctrinate in whites a sense of guilt and in blacks feelings of resentment and entitlement against whites.
“In fact for children of all races, we strongly believe that schools should value and define success in terms of hard work, earned accomplishment, merit, a commitment to academic rigor, and personal integrity.”
The Paulsons are generous philanthropists, with a $100 million donation to the Central Park Conservancy in 2012 and $400 million to Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 2015. They have also given up to $10 million to Success Academy Charter Schools to improve the quality of education in poor areas of New York City with failing schools.
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The Paulson letter — which was addressed to Spence’s Head of School Eleanor “Bodie” Brizendine and cc’d to several members of the Spence board of trustees — ends, “As you know we have been amongst the largest financial supporters of Spence. However, we will not continue to make donations to Spence while Spence continues on this path.”
When contacted by Page Six, Paulson said Tuesday, “Our family has long supported organizations that work to achieve social justice goals by equipping minority and low-income children with a world-class education that will lead to success in life. We believe that respect, inclusion, and tolerance for differing views must guide today’s discussions about race and equality.”
Spence added in a statement to Page Six, “Spence has a long-standing commitment to curriculum that promotes diverse perspectives and faces difficult truths. We have never wavered in this commitment, which is even more critical in this national reckoning over race and social justice.”