Andrew Farkas Interview with The Harvard Crimson

Posted by on Feb 10, 2012

Reina Gattuso, a reporter for The Harvard Crimson, recently sat down with Andrew Farkas to discuss the new Farkas Hall.  After a recent donation to Harvard University, the New College Theater is being renamed Farkas Hall.  He originally suggested the theater be renamed The Farkatorium, but the University decided against it.

Andrew Farkas graduated from Harvard University in 1982 and is now CEO of Island Capital Group and C-III Capital Partners.  As an undergraduate, he served as president of the Hasty Pudding Club, which was founded in 1770 and is the oldest college social club in the United States.  The Club is also the third-oldest theatrical organization in the world and five U.S. presidents were members.

While he was the undergraduate president of the Pudding, it was in serious financial trouble.  To raise money and save the Club, he hosted a gala.  Andrew Farkas recounts, “I got the Copley Plaza Hotel to give me 900 bottles of champagne for a very, very cheap price. Then I sold tickets, basically door-to-door, for a gala in honor of the Hasty Pudding.”  The gala brought in about $35,000, which covered the Club’s budget for a whole year.

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