2006 founder christopher chandler headquarters dubai united arab emirates key people mark stoleson ceo alan mccormick managing director philip vassiliou chief investment officer website www.legatum.com the neutrality of this article is disputed . relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met . march 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message legatum limited also known as legatum is a private investment firm headquartered in dubai united arab emirates . with a long term perspective legatum invests proprietary capital in global capital markets . the firm also invests in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise programs to create the policies that promote prosperity and initiatives to alleviate poverty . 1 2 3 4 5 6 contents 1 history 2 investment 3 philanthropy 3.1 development 3.2 entrepreneurship 3.3 policy innovation 4 references 5 external links history edit legatum was founded in december 2006 in the united arab emirates by christopher chandler . previously chandler was the president of sovereign global or sovereign which he co founded with his brother richard chandler in 1986 . sovereign invested capital in companies located in asia africa latin america and eastern europe and in industries including telecommunications electric utilities steel oil and gas banking and oil refining . the chandler brothers embarked on separate ventures following the de merger of sovereign in 2006 . 7 christopher chandler established legatum the following december . 8 legatum s name originates from the latin noun meaning legacy or gift . 6 in 2007 legatum established the legatum center for entrepreneurship at mit to promote a movement centered on free markets and entrepreneurship as the catalyst for economic and social change . 9 the center hosted its first annual conference around issues of development and entrepreneurship which brought together five nobel laureates in economics including lawrence klein robert c. merton eric maskin edmund s. phelps and paul samuelson . 10 also in 2007 legatum established the africa awards for entrepreneurship to recognize leaders in africa s entrepreneurial industry as role models in innovation business excellence and profitability . 11 the legatum institute foundation was established in 2007 as an independent non partisan charitable public policy think tank that seeks to understand what drives and restrains national success and individual flourishing . 2007 also saw the institute launch its annual legatum prosperity index an international report measures national prosperity based on both wealth and well being . 12 13 in 2008 legatum partnered with fortune magazine to announce the legatum fortune technology prize a 1 million award intended to reward for profit businesses who provide products and services to the needy through the use of technology . 8 in 2012 the legatum foundation launched the end fund an investment platform allowing philanthropists and social investors to contribute funds to end neglected tropical diseases ntds . 14 in the same year legatum purchased a nine storey 128 000 square foot building in the dubai international financial centre for its global headquarters . the building was renamed legatum plaza and the company moved its global operations into two floors of the newly renovated building the following year . 15 in 2013 the legatum foundation co founded the freedom fund which aims to raise 100 million to help abolish modern day slavery for 30 million people . 14 16 additionally the legatum institute foundation partnered with serial entrepreneur luke johnson to launch the centre for entrepreneurs a non profit joint venture that promotes the role of entrepreneurs in creating economic growth and social well being . 17 in partnership with philanthropic adviser geneva global the legatum foundation became the anchor donor in the ebola crisis fund during the 2014 ebola virus epidemic in west africa . the fund set out to raise a 4 million in an effort to help stop the spread of ebola . 18 in 2015 legatum established the speed school fund a private donor philanthropic fund designed to develop and scale initiatives which help out of school children get back to school . 19 investment edit legatum is a private investment firm based in dubai investing only proprietary capital with a long term perspective . 20 legatum holds a highly concentrated portfolio and has a global mandate open to invest in any sector or country . the firm s investment activities are opportunity driven and tend to focus on businesses with durable competitive advantages markets in transition or distressed situations . 4 7 legatum was one of the first foreign commercial investors to identify the need to provide critical equity capital to for profit microfinance organizations in india investing 25 million for a majority stake in share microfinance india s leading microfinance institution . 21 legatum s prosperity ladder graphically demonstrates the group s approach to capital allocation at all levels of the economic and social scale . 22 philanthropy edit legatum focuses on three core areas of philanthropic investment development entrepreneurship and policy innovation . development edit the legatum foundation is the development arm of legatum and invests in community based organizations and projects around the world to help the poorest and most marginalized people in society . the foundation focuses on the sectors of health education economic empowerment human liberty disaster recovery and the environment . 2 for over a decade the legatum foundation has financed over 1 400 projects across the developing world and has impacted over 100 million lives . the foundation has launched several philanthropic investment funds that tackle global challenges . in 2012 the legatum foundation established the end fund a private philanthropic initiative to combat neglected tropical diseases in sub saharan africa . 2 14 the foundation also co founded the freedom fund in 2013 an organization which aims to raise 100 million to help abolish modern day slavery for 30 million people . 16 in 2014 it became the anchor donor of the ebola crisis fund a fund established to help prevent the spread of the deadly ebola virus epidemic in west africa . 23 in 2015 the foundation established the speed school fund a private donor philanthropic fund designed to develop and scale initiatives which help out of school children get back to school . 24 entrepreneurship edit in 2007 legatum established the legatum center for entrepreneurship at mit with the aim to create a generation of business leaders in developing countries by providing them with the skills needed to succeed as entrepreneurs . 7 fellowships are granted to students who show entrepreneurial ambition and an interest in making a lasting and positive economic impact on low income countries . 25 by 2014 the center had launched over 20 enterprises across 40 countries . the legatum fellows have pursued businesses that tackle social issues such as improving sanitation by converting waste products into fertilizer in kenya establishing plastic recycling businesses in nigeria and improving the apparel industry s conditions in tanzania . 6 legatum established the annual africa awards for entrepreneurship program which recognizes and rewards business leaders who serve as role models to africa s aspiring entrepreneurs . the program has been in operation since 2007 and is now run by the african leadership network with legatum still involved as a lead sponsor . 26 in partnership with serial entrepreneur luke johnson legatum launched the centre for entrepreneurs in london . the centre promotes entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurs in creating economic growth and social well being . 27 it has no political affiliation and encourages participation from all main political parties in the united kingdom as well as lobby groups and other think tanks . 28 29 policy innovation edit legatum is a sponsor of the legatum institute foundation an independent non partisan policy advisory and advocacy organization based in london . 27 the institute researches and promotes the principles that drive the creation of global prosperity and the expansion of human liberty . the institute undertakes original and collaborative research and publishes case studies and ancillary literature . the legatum institute also publishes the annual legatum prosperity index 28 which measures prosperity across countries by applying a combination of material wealth and life satisfaction factors . the report has been in continuous publication since its launch in 2007 and has expanded its coverage from 50 countries to 142 . 30 31 references edit everywhere in supply chains . the economist . 14 march 2015 . retrieved 2 april 2015 . a b c khaleel zenifer 1 july 2011 . legatum foundation helping community based organisations thrive . gulf news . retrieved 11 november 2015 . chakraborty somasroy ; somasroy arijit 20 may 2011 . q & a mark stoleson ceo legatum . business standard . retrieved 11 november 2015 . a b falconer tim 28 january 2014 . principles before profit q & a with legatum group ceo mark stoleson . wall street journal . retrieved 10 november 2015 . 2015 africa prosperity summit promoting wealth and wellbeing . business call to action . may 2015 . retrieved 11 november 2015 . a b c springer jon 26 february 2014 . mit s legatum center unleashes entrepreneurs alters thinking about developing countries . forbes . retrieved 10 november 2015 . a b c clark andrew 21 may 2008 . school aims to seed the world with business sense . the guardian . retrieved 10 november 2015 . a b kirkpatrick david 25 july 2015 . from brainstorm our new 1 million prize and more . fortune magazine . retrieved 10 november 2015 . dugger celia w. 18 september 2007 . dubai m.i.t. center for developing countries . new york times . retrieved 10 november 2015 . katz rob 8 october 2008 . legatum center for development and entrepreneurship launches . nextbillion . retrieved 10 november 2015 . 2013 africa awards for entrepreneurship . awp network . 18 june 2013 . retrieved 10 november 2015 . springer jon 14 november 2014 . legatum s 2014 prosperity index asia positives for entrepreneurship indonesia mongolia . forbes . retrieved 10 november 2015 . fox justin february 2012 . the economics of well being . harvard business review . retrieved 10 november 2015 . a b c doust andrew 22 september 2014 . two billion reasons to invest in slums . philanthropy age . retrieved 11 november 2015 . cronin sean 11 april 2012 . legatum buys difc s precinct building 6 . the national . retrieved 11 november 2015 . a b lee yoolim ; ismail netty 19 june 2014 . singapore billionaire bets big on energy in africa asia . bloomberg . retrieved 11 november 2015 . dunsby megan 20 november 2013 . centre for entrepreneurs launches to support and promote uk entrepreneurs . startups . retrieved 11 november 2015 . ebola crisis fund launches round 2 . geneva global . 26 january 2015 . retrieved 11 november 2015 . barasa louise makau 19 august 2015 . programs that stay the same fail the same . geneva global . retrieved 11 november 2015 . smith alexander george 9 october 2007 . india offers opportunities for long term investors . the economic times . retrieved 10 november 2015 . banerjee gargi 16 may 2007 . dubai s legatum invests rs125 cr in share microfin picks 51 % stake . livemint . retrieved 10 november 2015 . whittle davis 24 july 2009 . bullets ladders and circles . huffington post . retrieved 10 november 2015 . dubai based foundation injects 150 000 into new ebola crisis fund . philanthropy age . 7 september 2014 . retrieved 11 november 2015 . conway cameron 1 september 2015 . of stones & schools . huffington post . retrieved 11 november 2015 . legatum fellowship . legatum . retrieved 11 november 2015 . 2013 africa awards for entrepreneurship . ofa . 7 september 2013 . retrieved 11 november 2015 . dead link a b about li . legatum institute . retrieved 2012 11 04 . a b