THANKS £100m!
Billionaire makes the largest ever British gift to Cambridge University to fund poorer students
A BILLIONAIRE has given Cambridge University £100 million in the largest single British donation to an educational institution.
Hedge fund tycoon David Harding, who studied physics at the university 40 years ago, donated £ 79 million to fund scholarships for PhD students.
A further £20 million will go to support ‘debt-free’ degrees, where underprivileged students pay nothing in fees or maintenance. And £1 million will be used to attract applicants from low-income households and black families.
It is hoped the huge sum will help the university reach out to the country’s most disadvantaged communities.
Cambridge is under intense political pressure to admit more poorer students following accusations of elitism. This injection of private money will mean it can operate in a
‘Nurture the finest academic talent’
similar manner to US rivals such as Harvard, which gives out large numbers of full scholarships.
The money will come from the David and Claudia Harding Foundation, which the entrepreneur set up with his wife.
Vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope said the gift would help the university ‘ transform its offer to students’, adding: ‘ We want to attract, support and fund the most talented students we can find from all parts of the UK and the world. We are determined that Cambridge should nurture the finest academic talent, whatever the background or means of our students.’
Mr Harding, 57, studied at St Catharine’s College, where he was known for his pink hair and penchant for punk music. He earned a first- class degree in natural sciences, specialising in theoretical physics.
Shunning academia for a career in finance, he founded Winton, a global investment management and data science company, in 1997.
He was ranked 136th in last year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a personal wealth of £1 billion, which has allowed him to be a prolific donor to causes close to his heart. His £3.5 million donation to Britain Stronger in Europe made him the second-biggest financial backer of Remain in the EU referendum, and he has also been a Tory donor.
Despite his opposition to Brexit, the vote outcome actually made him money – with his hedge funds amassing about £800 million in the week following the referendum.
Starting this October, the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme will fund more than 100 PhD students at any one time.
Last night Mr Harding said he hoped the cash would ‘attract future generations of the world’s outstanding students’. Mr Harding, who has five children, has been a colourful character in the world of philanthropy. Two years ago, he told the Evening Standard he gives money to ‘people or institutions I like’ and said anyone bidding for cash should treat donors like ‘customers’ and not ‘assert moral supremacy’.
He added: ‘ Many British institutions are just so grand that the idea that they should demean themselves by talking to the nouveaux riches is paining. I feel for them – that they can’t conceal their contempt for the person who they are trying to shame into giving them money.’
He has said that he and his company have paid more than £1 billion in UK taxes over the past decade, but would contemplate leaving Britain if Jeremy Corbyn came to power.
The tycoon even said he might give his annual income to charity – as he has done in the past – if the Government tries to ‘take too much’.