It's not really a comparison, but more so used to show you the perspective of the university's deep pockets and just how deep they are. If a single university

It's not really a comparison, but more so used to show you the perspective of the university's deep pockets and just how deep they are. If a single university has a bigger endowment than the entire monetary value of produced goods and services of a country for a whole year, it gives you perspective on what that money can do when poured specifically into a single purpose (education, R&D, attracting academic talent, etc)