Record-breaking donation enables Cambridge University to establish the Rokos School of Government

New School aims to prepare tomorrow's leaders to tackle world's biggest problems

CAMBRIDGE, England, March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Cambridge today announced that it plans to establish the Rokos School of Government, made possible by a commitment of £190 million from investor, Chris Rokos. This is believed to be the single biggest donation ever made to a British university in modern times.

The Rokos School of Government aims to prepare future leaders to be able to navigate the ever-more-challenging demands of both domestic and international politics in a new and complex world of great structural change.

Mr Rokos has agreed to provide initial support of £130 million, plus further funds of up to £60 million, the subsequent amounts to be matched by Cambridge University.* The University will also be contributing the undeveloped land in the Cambridge West Innovation District on which the School will be built.

Fundamental to the School's operation will be its direct access to Cambridge's renowned expertise in technology and the sciences, together with disciplines more usually associated with the social sciences, arts and humanities.

Chris Rokos said: "I was fortunate to be given the opportunity of an education which transformed my life, and I would like to give something back to Britain. My hope is that, in time, the influence of the Rokos School of Government across the world becomes an important element of that soft power which has been a great asset to the UK."

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge, said: "Tackling the enormous challenges facing our world requires radical new ways of thinking and approaches to leadership. Cambridge, with its strengths across all disciplines and its convening power, is uniquely positioned to drive this innovation.

"Thanks to Chris' generous support, the Rokos School of Government will become a place where leaders and governments – both current and future – together with experts from across our institution generate the insights and solutions needed to respond to our rapidly changing world."

In recent years there has been a marked shift in the political landscape across the world, often accompanied by a polarisation of political opinion and challenges from both left and right to free speech and existing institutional structures. At the same time, the seemingly natural ebb and flow of business cycles has been disrupted by long-term structural transformations within the economy. These structural changes transcend short term business and political cycles and often reflect fundamental shifts in dynamics, led by technology or demographics.

Chris Rokos added, "The discussions which led to the creation of the Rokos School of Government began some years ago. It was becoming clear that the world was changing in new and different ways, and that the processes of government needed to adapt accordingly. New challenges and opportunities require new responses.

"For me, there can be no better home for the Rokos School of Government than Cambridge University, with its long tradition of scientific innovation and synergistic culture. It will provide the School with a unique forum for radical and remarkable thinking, capturing the inspiration of the brightest minds from around the world and harnessing new technologies in order to meet the needs of modern government."

Rooted in the belief that building a better future requires creativity of thought and new forms of governance, the School's guiding principle will be to generate practical, lasting solutions to 21st Century problems, serving society whilst upholding fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The Rokos School of Government will be housed in a dedicated new building in the heart of the University's Cambridge West Innovation District. This will become one of Europe's strategic locations for science, technology and policy, and the School's presence there will signal a focus on the relationship between technology and the sciences and the social sciences, arts and humanities.

It will begin its operations in Autumn 2026, and will host a growing cohort of PhD and Masters students both in the School and as joint appointments with departments across the University.

To support this teaching and research, the Rokos School of Government will grow a faculty from established academic disciplines – political scientists, economists, historians, engineers and statisticians – in parallel with which it will recruit experts from government and from senior positions in business, finance or public service.

Subject to the approval of the UK's Charity Commission, a trust will be formed to oversee the financial undertakings made to the School by its donors and by the University. Four appointees will be tasked with managing the affairs of the Trust, two of whom will be appointed by the University of Cambridge and two by the School's founder, Chris Rokos.

The University of Cambridge has nominated Professor Sir John Aston FRS, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Professor Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for University Community and Engagement.

Chris Rokos' nominations will be Dr Christos Nifadopoulos and Dr Elisabeth Kendall. Dr Nifadopoulos is a former academic and now a senior lawyer, himself a Cambridge alumnus and the person who has overseen the detailed negotiations which led up to this announcement.

Dr Kendall is today The Mistress and President of Girton College, Cambridge. She and Chris Rokos were undergraduates together at Pembroke College, Oxford and have remained close friends ever since. Detailed conversations between them led to a shared recognition of the need to prepare leaders of the future to be able to face new challenges. This led to the concept of a new and differentiated School of Government founded as part of the University of Cambridge.

*Chris Rokos' donations will be made to Cambridge in America (UK) Ltd in furtherance of its charitable objective of supporting the University of Cambridge.

[An accompanying video is available at: https://youtu.be/ieU0YwiAqLs. For rights reasons, it is requested that the video is embedded directly from YouTube rather than uploading to media players.]

For further information concerning:

Cambridge University and Rokos School of Government:
Please contact Craig Brierley: +44 (0) 7879 116949, email craig.brierley@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Chris Rokos:
Please contact Alan Kilkenny: + 44 (0) 7836 311639 or +44 (0) 1264 781228, email alankilkenny@btconnect.com.

Notes to Editors

The Rokos School of Government Building:

The Rokos School of Government Building will be designed following a competition between a chosen selection of eminent architects. Its planning approval and subsequent construction will take some time. Until the Building is completed, the Rokos School of Government will be operating from temporary facilities within Cambridge.

Chris Rokos biography:

Chris Rokos (55) is a British investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of global multi-asset investment fund Rokos Capital Management, and was a founding partner of Brevan Howard Asset Management.

Rokos was identified by his UK maintained (state) primary school as a pupil with outstanding academic potential, especially in maths and science. He won a scholarship to Eton College, and then studied mathematics at Pembroke College, Oxford, graduating in 1992 with a first class degree. 

After university, Rokos first joined UBS and later Goldman Sachs, working in derivative structuring, and then swap market making and eventually proprietary trading. He was hired by Alan Howard to join Credit Suisse, but later both men resigned, founding an asset management business named Brevan Howard. This quickly became one of Europe's leading hedge funds, and Rokos became widely known as one of the world's most influential government-bond traders.

In 2012, Rokos retired from trading, but returned in 2015 to found Rokos Capital Management (RCM). Rokos Capital Management today manages more than $22 billion with offices in London, New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

Chris Rokos is domiciled in the UK and is an active supporter of British and global charitable initiatives. Having benefitted substantially from the education which became available to him as a result of the scholarship he gained, he decided to provide financial support through a variety of educational initiatives, especially those which promote equality of opportunity. These include the New Foundation Scholarships programme at Eton and educational initiatives linked to Pembroke College Oxford.

Rokos also has many and varied connections with Cambridge University, which he has long supported through various programmes. At Girton College, Rokos established both the Girton Rokos Internships in STEM subjects and the Girton Rokos Fellowship also in STEM. In 2026, he donated a further £5 million to Girton in support of the College's ambitious vision.

At Queens' College Cambridge Rokos supports the Alexander Crummell PhD Scholarship and the Rokos-Menon Senior Research Fellowship. He also supports the Cambridge University Centre for Climate Repair.

Through his firm, Rokos Capital Management, he supports secondary education initiatives focused on academic excellence and inclusion: the Amos Bursary, The London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, and King's College London Maths School.

Rokos also supports numerous organisations seeking to guarantee basic human rights and needs, and those which tackle the challenge of refugees, including Amnesty International and UNHCR.

Rokos has a keen interest in the development of policy and in governance. He provides financial support to Chatham House, the Royal United Services Institute and Policy Exchange. He also supports the Global Leadership Foundation.

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