UK billionaire Chris Rokos donates record £190m to Cambridge University | University of Cambridge
British billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Rokos has donated a record £190 million to the University of Cambridge to establish a new government school that will bear his name.
It is believed to be the largest donation to any UK university in modern times and is intended to support Cambridge’s emergence as a leading training ground for future world leaders.
Rokos, 55, one of Britain’s richest people, is donating an initial £130 million, with additional funding of up to £60 million to be matched by the university.
Discussions have been ongoing for some time, but the Rokos government school will open its doors in temporary accommodation this fall and offer doctoral and master’s degrees.
It will eventually move to a new building in Cambridge’s Western Innovation District and aims to rival Oxford University’s Blavatnik school of government, which opened in 2010 with a £75 million donation from Soviet-born businessman Len Blavatnik.
Rokos, who went to a state primary school and studied mathematics at Oxford before being offered a scholarship to Eton College, said: “I was lucky to be given a life-changing educational opportunity and I would like to give something back to Britain.
“My hope is that over time the worldwide influence of the Rokos school of government will become an important element of soft power, which is a great asset to the UK.”
According to the university, the new institution is a response to increasing turmoil in domestic and foreign politics, increasing polarization in political views, and long-term structural changes in the economy.
“New challenges and opportunities require new answers,” Rokos said. “For me, there is no better home for the Rokos school of government than the University of Cambridge, with its long tradition of scientific innovation and synergistic culture.
“It will provide the school with a unique forum for radical and remarkable thought, drawing inspiration from the brightest minds from around the world and leveraging new technologies to meet the needs of modern government.”
Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Prof Deborah Prentice said: “Tackling the enormous challenges facing our world requires radical new ways of thinking and leadership approaches. With its strengths and unifying power across all disciplines, Cambridge is uniquely placed to support this innovation.”
“Thanks to Chris’ generous support, the Rokos school of government will become a place where current and future leaders and governments, along with experts from across our institution, generate the insights and solutions needed to respond to our rapidly changing world.”
Rokos is among the UK’s biggest taxpayers and his fortune is estimated at £2.6bn, according to last year’s Sunday Times rich list. He is best known for his role as a bond trader who started his career at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse and co-founded the hedge fund Brevan Howard.
In 2015, he made a name for himself in the finance world once again by launching Rokos Capital Management (RCM), which employs more than 350 people. It recently made headlines after it was revealed that RCM was in talks to hire former US ambassador Peter Mandelson in an advisory role, but ended the negotiations following Epstein’s latest statements.
