Billionaire Chris Rokos to make record donation to Cambridge
British billionaire and founder of investment firm Rokos Capital Management Chris Rokos plans to donate £190 million to University of Cambridge, Qazinform News Agency reports.
According to the university, this will be the largest single donation made to a British university in modern times.
The funds will be used to establish a new school of government, the Rokos School of Government, aimed at training future leaders. The project will include initial funding of £130 million from the philanthropist, along with an additional £60 million to be matched by the university.
Chris Rokos said he decided to make the donation to “give something back” to Britain.
Rokos received his education in the state sector, where his abilities in mathematics and science earned him a scholarship to Eton College. He later graduated with first-class honors in mathematics from Pembroke College, University of Oxford, and subsequently became a foundation fellow of the college.
The new school will be built in the Cambridge West Innovation District, near the university’s science and technology departments. It is expected to begin operations this autumn using temporary facilities, before a dedicated building is constructed.
The institution will admit Master’s and PhD students and will establish a faculty comprising political scientists, economists, statisticians, as well as experts from business and government.
Prior to Rokos’ donation, the largest contribution to a university was £185 million given in 2019 by American billionaire Stephen Schwarzman to the University of Oxford to establish a humanities center.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Cambridge Dictionary named “parasocial” the Word of the Year 2025.
