Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI), known by its trade name, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, is a non-profit organisation. It was founded in 2016 by the former British prime minister Tony Blair.^[6][7]

Tony Blair Institute

Abbreviation	TBI
Formation	1 December 2016; 8 years ago (2016-12-01)
Founder	Tony Blair
Type	Private company limited by guarantee
Registration no.	10505963
Headquarters	One Bartholomew Close, London[1]: 26
Key people	Tony Blair (Owner and Executive Chairman)[2] Ian Mulheirn (Chief Executive)[3]
Expenses	£48,272,000[1]: 20  (2020)
Staff	450+[4] (2022)
Website	institute.global
YouTube information
Channel	Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Genre	Political Influencing
Subscribers	10.9 thousand[5]
Views	1.18 million[5]

Agenda

It is not a political party, but is strongly influenced by the ideology and personal style of Blair.^[8]

Policy areas

The Tony Blair Institute believes that extremism, governance, the Middle East and the fight against populism are all interconnected. For example, they say that countries will not develop where extremism flourishes. Without peace in the Middle East, grievances will continue to fester, and conflict will spill-over to other countries. Those seeking refuge have also been used by populists to whip up anger in the West – and, crucially, they say that the centre-ground has to deal with these issues and renew a politics of hope and optimism, rejecting fear and pessimism.^[7]

Renewing the centre ground

Headed by the German-American political scientist Yascha Mounk, a lecturer at Harvard University, they work to revitalise the centre ground of politics and equip today’s leaders to combat the rise of false populism. Focusing on the big policy challenges that globalisation presents, they aim to combat populism and revitalise the centre ground through a corpus of new policy thinking.^[9]

Co-existence

They work to promote co-existence and counter extremism by tackling the ideology behind violence, not just the violence itself, and focusing on responses to extremism that first seek to understand the underlying ideology then addressing it by disrupting its spread, reducing its appeal, and building resilience to its messaging.^[10]

One of their initiatives to promote co-existence is an education programme called Generation Global.^[11] The programme claims to promote intercultural understanding organising dialogue activities for young people.

Middle East

They engage with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and key officials, influential regional actors, diplomatic missions and multinational institutions, to inform and guide thinking and decision-making. Developing and advocating for practical recommendations on the peace process and to improve the economic, political and humanitarian realities on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. The team also focuses on efforts aimed at allowing for renewed and credible discussions between the Palestinian and Israeli governments, including on pressing issues related to the economic and fiscal stability of the Palestinian Authority, as well as working with the sides on ideas to boost the Palestinian economy.^[7]

The Tony Blair Institute warned of growing Iranian threat. According to The Tony Blair Institute: "The totalitarian and divisive worldview born from the 1979 Iranian Revolution… has been a driving force of instability and violence for years. Unless Western leaders can learn the lessons from the 1979 revolution, the threat Iran poses will continue to grow."^[12]

Governance

Their governance work focuses on working with governments and leaders of fragile, developing and emerging states to enhance their effectiveness. They help governments and leaders make their vision for development a reality. Providing analysis, commentary and lessons from their work with governments in fragile, developing and emerging states.^[13]

The Tony Blair Institute has projects in 14 African countries, whose combined population exceeds 460 million. Their governance work is primarily programmatic. Tony Blair provides advice to African leaders with Tony Blair Institute advisers working in governments, helping them implement their own visions for development.^[7]

Funding

Blair gave the reserves of his former business to provide the seed funding for his new Institute.^[14] On 21 July 2018 it was reported by The Daily Telegraph that Blair had signed a deal worth £9,000,000 with the Saudi Arabian government.^[15] The article quotes a spokesperson saying that, while the Institute was under no duty to disclose donors or donations, they confirmed receiving a donation from Media Investment Ltd, a subsidiary of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group registered in Guernsey, to fund their work for modernisation and reform working for a regional solution to the peace process, as well as on governance in Africa and promoting religious co-existence.^[16] The Tony Blair Institute confirmed that it had received donations from the United States Department of State and Saudi Arabia.^[17]

In 2024 the Institute provided paid work for the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan when Azerbaijan hosted the COP29 conference.^[18]

The Guardian reported in April 2025 that one of TBI's largest donors is the charitable foundation of Larry Ellison, the founder of the computer technology company Oracle, which gave over £52 million to TBI in 2023 and has promised another £163 million.^[19]

Legacy organisations

On 1 December 2016 Blair announced that ‘The Africa Governance Initiative’; ‘The Tony Blair Faith Foundation’; and his ‘Initiative for the Middle East’ would all become part of the Tony Blair Institute, saying: “Over the past nine years we have built a family of organisations which together employ nearly 200 people; have worked in over 30 countries; and have produced some real and lasting achievements. I am very proud of the commitment and impact of the people I have had the privilege to work with.”^[20]

Criticism

The TBI was accused of pursuing a neoliberal agenda and serving as an ideological vehicle for Blair. Blair's possible pursuit of personal interests, the possible influence of private donors and the co-operation with authoritarian governments such as Rwanda and Saudi Arabia were also criticised.^[21] The left wing of the British Labour Party, which Blair led from 1994 to 2007, complained about the TBI's close contacts to the party leader, Keir Starmer, and Blair's significant influence on him. The Guardian described Blair as more powerful in 2023 than during his premiership.^[22]

Gaza redevelopment proposal

The Great Trust was a postwar development proposal for the Gaza Strip, reportedly involving the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a group of Israeli businessmen, and financial modelling support from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The proposal was shared with the Trump administration and aimed to transform Gaza into a commercial and industrial hub.^[23]

According to reporting by the Financial Times, the plan included concepts such as a “Trump Riviera” and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone,” with the goal of attracting private investment and boosting the local economy. A controversial element of the proposal involved offering financial incentives for up to half a million Palestinians to leave Gaza, as part of a broader resettlement strategy.

The Tony Blair Institute confirmed it had participated in early-stage discussions regarding postwar planning for Gaza but stated that it did not author or endorse the final proposal.