Rokos Capital Management founder Chris Rokos has committed £190m to the University of Cambridge to fund the creation of a new school of government, marking the largest single donation ever made to a UK university, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The contribution will sees Rokos donate and initial £130m upfront for the news school which will be located within the Cambridge West innovation district, while a further £60m has been pledged on a matched-funding basis with the university.
The initiative is intended to establish a leading European centre for research and debate on public policy, particularly at the intersection of politics, economics, science and emerging technologies.
The gift surpasses previous major UK university donations, including Stephen Schwarzman’s £185m contribution to the University of Oxford. Cambridge’s own prior record donation stood at £100m, awarded by investor David Harding in 2019.
Rokos said his decision was driven by a desire to contribute to the UK after benefiting from a strong educational background. He also expressed hope that the new institution would enhance Britain’s global influence through thought leadership.
The planned Rokos School of Government will bring together academics, policymakers and industry practitioners, with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration. The university expects to fund between 80 and 100 PhD students over its first decade, with teaching set to begin later this year.
Rokos emphasised the importance of intellectual diversity within the school, noting that a wide range of perspectives would be critical to its success.
A prominent macro investor, Rokos launched his hedge fund in 2015 after co-founding Brevan Howard. His firm has benefited from recent market volatility, and he remains one of the industry’s most high-profile traders.
