A new study has revealed that the University of Cambridge is the best university for becoming a billionaire in the UK.
QR Code Generator examined which universities were attended by the 23 UK-based billionaires that went to a UK university for all or part of their undergraduate education. Universities were then ranked by the number of billionaire attendees and highest total net worth. Billionaires were included if they appeared on Forbes’ 2024 World’s Billionaires List and listed as UK-based.
The top 10 UK universities producing the most billionaires
The University of Cambridge ranked top for the best UK university to become a billionaire. Cambridge has produced three UK-based billionaires with a combined net worth of £9.8 billion ($12.9 billion) including Andrew Currie, John Reece, and Mark Coombs.
The University of Oxford was second, producing three billionaires with a total net worth of £4.18 billion. These billionaires were Christopher Rokos, Alex Beard, and Michael Spencer.
The London School of Economics ranked third, with hedge fund manager Michael Platt’s £13.67 billion net worth breaking the tie.
Ranking fourth is the University of Birmingham. Chemical engineer and INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended the university and has amassed a net worth of £12.53 billion.
The Royal College of Art placed fifth and boasts inventor Sir James Dyson as its billionaire alumnus, with a net worth of £10.33 billion.
Following in sixth is the University of Sheffield, while the University of Sheffield ranked seventh.
Rounding out the top ten are City St. George’s, University of London, the University of Bristol, and Imperial College London.
Eleven (one in five) UK-listed billionaires attended university outside of the UK, and 22 (two in five) UK-listed billionaires did not attend university at all.
Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator, commented on the findings: “I think most people would love to live like a billionaire, and while it may not guarantee such financial success, university can often be the catalyst for billionaires to develop their skills to build their fortune.
“We wanted to see which UK universities this might apply most to, finding that the University of Cambridge ranked best, with three billionaire alumni and a higher total net worth between them than second-placed University of Oxford’s three billionaires.
“It is interesting to see how many billionaires didn’t attend university, with 40% opting not to go.”
