len blavatnik

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."

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Billlionaire May Set NY Apartment Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Real estate mogul Leonard Blavatnik just can't seem to get enough of New York real estate. He's already spent $50 million for the Bronfman townhouse this summer, and also bought a $27 million apartment in the city but now he may set a real estate record. The billionaire has signed a letter of intent to buy five co-op apartments at The Mark hotel. Braden Keil of the NY Post reports that Blavatnik has offered $125 million, although the developers want $150 million. Contracts can't be signed yet because prices of the units have not yet been approved by the state Attorney General's Office. Another NY real estate watcher, Max Abelson of the NY Observer reports that it is far from a done deal.

The hotel, which is located at 25 E. 77th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues, is currently being renovated. The space for sale is nearly 30,000 square feet on the top three floors of the building. The apartments also come with 3,900 of outdoor space including a rooftop terrace with a fireplace. If they were sold separately the apartments would have a total of 23 bedrooms. As with most hotel properties, this one comes with hotel-style amenities such as maid and room services. Blavatnik is worth around $7.2 billion according to Forbes .

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Tags: len blavatnik, leonard blavatnik, LeonardBlavatnik, mark hotel, new york