Why I Give: Lord Jim O’Neill (PhD Economics, 1982)
When Lord Jim O’Neill stepped back onto the University of Surrey campus to receive an honorary degree in the summer, it was more than a celebration of a stellar global career - it was a homecoming.
Lord O'Neill on a recent visit to Stag Hill Campus
“Coming back is quite emotional,” he admits. “Not only did Surrey give me the chance to do a PhD - which changed everything - it’s also where I met my wife, Caroline. Who would have dreamt it?”
Jim arrived at Surrey in 1979 with, in his own words, “no desire to get a job just yet.” Few people thought pursuing a PhD was a wise move, but his supervisor at Sheffield, and his father encouraged him to go for it. He credits the experience has having given him the confidence to think independently, to question things and to sit with not having a clear answer “It was a game-changer. That’s a skill I took with me throughout my career.”
That career has taken him from the Bank of America to Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, from coining the term ‘BRIC’ to becoming a life peer and Commercial Secretary to the Treasury. But it all started here, during his time as a postgraduate in Guildford.
“I still remember joining the football club and being shocked no one trained midweek because they were too busy studying. It was a different kind of university - people here were very conscientious. Somehow, I ended up captain of the team!”
Beyond academia and sport, Surrey left a more enduring legacy. “The friendships I made, the freedom to explore ideas, the sense that your background doesn’t limit your ambition - that all stayed with me.”
Lord O'Neill, Doctor of the University, honoris causa
Jim grew up in South Manchester, on what he calls “the not-so-Cheshire side of Gatley.” His father, a postman who left school at 14, was determined that his children would have opportunities he didn’t. “He borrowed money he couldn’t afford so my sisters could attend better schools. His drive is the reason I kept going.”
That personal history fuels Jim’s commitment to education. He co-founded SHINE, a charity supporting children in under-resourced communities, and created the O’Neill Scholarship (later renamed the O’Neill-Brard Scholarship) at Surrey to support talented economics students who might otherwise be priced out of higher education.
A visit back to his old junior school a few years ago was moving. Two out of three lads Jim played football with had died before they turned 30 “There was no difference between them and me, except for my dad’s influence and even though I wasn’t on the ‘right’ side of the road, at night I'd go home to a relatively nice home and these guys lived on the Wythenshawe council estate. So that really made me think even deeper about how opportunity is there or not, and that I can help more kids have just a chance of a university place.”
It’s that difference - of just one opportunity - that drives his giving. “Education changes lives. It gave me choices. If I can help open that door for someone else, then it’s the least I can do.”
And to Surrey’s new graduates, his advice is simple: “Don't let any crisis get you down. There is always going to be another crisis. And most of us, fortunately, are living proof that you get on the other side of a crisis. Don’t let it define you. Keep going. Trust your instincts. Sometimes saying ‘no’ is as powerful as saying ‘yes’. And always, always do your best.”