Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Netflix’s ‘A Man on the Inside’ brings Ted Danson back as retired professor-turned-PI Charles Nieuwendyk, as he looks into the case of a stolen laptop. This laptop is worth $ 400 million, or at least, the contents inside it are worth that much. It belongs to the President of Wheeler College, which is expected to receive a hefty donation from billionaire Brad Vinick. As Charles begins investigating the case, he also meets Vinick and discovers the true nature of his investment in the college. What makes this arc even more believable is that it seems to be plucked right out of reality. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Fictional Brad Vinick and Vinick Capital Represent the Capitalistic Greed of Billionaires
Billionaire Brad Vinick and his company, Vinick Capital, are fictional additions to the second season of ‘A Man on the Inside.’ Played by Gary Cole, the character is not particularly based on a real person. However, it seems to be inspired by real-life billionaires who are known to have influenced or taken over the educational system of universities after becoming their big donors. Actor Ted Danson revealed that writer-creator Mike Schur addressed this issue “head-on within the context of this story” to make the story both fun and purposeful. He added that the scenario depicted in the second season is important “because a lot of stuff is happening with universities and colleges nowadays … [Many schools are removing] the arts and the music and all the different things that aren’t just purposefully [about becoming] billionaires.”
In the show, when Brad Vinick offers $400 million in donations to Wheeler College, it is presented as the saving grace for the liberal arts college. Later, however, it is revealed that Vinick plans to completely eliminate the liberal arts programs and create new ones, which would focus on churning out more billionaires. Something similar has happened to universities and colleges in real life as well. According to a report by The Nation in 2019, it was revealed that billionaire George Kaiser gave over $70 million in donations to the University of Tulsa. Soon after, the university experienced a complete restructuring of its educational program under the name “True Commitment.”
According to this plan, the liberal arts program at the college was reportedly gutted. Additionally, default teaching loads were increased from five to eight courses per year. While a majority of academic departments were removed, new divisions were created to house the remaining few under one umbrella. At the same time, a group of colleges, which operated independently before the restructuring and focused on law, health sciences, and business, were brought under the umbrella of Professional Super College. In the same vein, large donations have been made to gain control of colleges and universities, but just like Vinick’s deal in the Netflix show, some real-life deals didn’t go forth either.
Brad Vinick’s Plans Reflect the Influence Wielded by Wealth and Power
Reportedly, in 2013, Center College, a liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, was supposed to receive a $250 million donation from a Texas billionaire named Bob Brockman. It was supposed to fund full-ride scholarships for 40 students. However, six weeks later, the donation was rescinded. According to the school, it was due to a “significant capital market event.” While donations can be a way to completely overhaul the workings of a college, they remain instrumental in ensuring that the institutions continue to function. There have been instances where billionaires have donated to help universities create a better learning environment for students.
In November 2025, billionaire Jeff Yass reportedly donated $100 million to the University of Austin to permanently offer free tuition to its students. Considering all this, it is clear that while creating Brad Vinick, Mike Schur was thinking about the people who use their wealth to influence the institutions that nurture the future of the country and the world. Whether or not their money is used for good or bad depends on the kind of person and their intentions behind the donations. Brad Vinick, as it turns out, is not a particularly good person, and his intentions with Wheeler are not to uplift the college and its students, but to mold the place in his own image and create something profitable for himself.
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