Russian Billionaire Endows Oxford School

Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik has popped on our radar before, usually for his big real estate deals in New York City. But the Independent reports that Blavatnik is also quite the big giver. He's the man behind Europe's first major school of government, which is opening at Oxford University. He spent £75 million (over $116 million) to create the Blavatnik School of Government. The school has the goal of teaching the skills and responsibilities of government, focusing on issues of global importance such as climate change and a potential flu pandemic.

The first students won't arrive until 2012. The school will accept 120 students a year who will study for a Master's degree that will bring together the disciplines of humanities, law, science, social sciences, technology, health, finance, energy and security policy. The school's main competition is the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University which offers a similar education. Blavatnik, 53, is the founder and chairman of Access Industries and has a Master's degree in computing from Columbia University and a postgraduate degree in business administration from Harvard. In a video address at the launch, former President Bill Clinton said: "Oxford's reputation as an international powerhouse of research will help students and the global community to better understand not just politics and economies, but also public health, environmental science, development, genetics and the humanities."