The Tony Blair Institute, known by its trade name, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the abbreviation TBI, is a think tank and consultancy founded in 2016 by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.[5][6]
TBI advises politicians, governments and businesses on strategy and policy, and promotes a particular focus on the role of technology in politics. This has included studies into public perception of AI and ID cards, working closely with technology leaders such as Oracle Corporation’s Larry Ellison, to empower closer ties between government, public entities and private companies. Ellison’s own foundation has also donated at least £257m to the Tony Blair Institute[7][8].
Amongst its clients are the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which TBI continued to work with in the wake of the murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, as well as Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Indonesia[9].
Much of the Institute’s work focuses on the politics of Neoliberalism, of which Tony Blair was a major proponent as Prime Minister of the UK between 1997 and 2007.
During Donald Trump’s second term, the TBI worked closely with the President and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to develop a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. This caused significant controversy in 2025, when staff from the Institute contributed to a study which promoted the idea of paying Palestinians to leave their land and which coincided with multiple NGOs, academics and lawyers declaring that Israel was committing a genocide in Palestine[10][11][12][13][14][15].
In 2023, the Institute reported an annual revenue of $140 million, was providing advice to more than 40 governments around the world, and was projected to grow its staff numbers to more than 1,000 people before the end of 2024[16].
Funding
Blair gave the reserves of his former business to provide the seed funding for his new Institute.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] The Tony Blair Institute confirmed that it had received donations from the United States Department of State and Saudi Arabia.[20]
In 2024 the Institute provided paid work for the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan when Azerbaijan hosted the COP29 conference.[21]
The Guardian reported in April 2025 that one of institute's largest donors is the charitable foundation of Larry Ellison, the founder of the computer technology company Oracle, which gave over £52 million in 2023 and has promised another £163 million.[22]
Criticism
The institute 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.[23] The left wing of the British Labour Party, which party Blair led from 1994 to 2007, complained about the institute'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.[24]
Climate change denial
In April 2025, the Tony Blair Institute issued a report titled The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change. The report argued that global institutions including United Nations Climate Change Conference and the United Nations had failed to make sufficient progress in halting climate change, but was publicly criticised for presenting a politicised view of climate science, promoting misinformation about climate change and engaging in climate change denial. [25][26][27]
Specifically, the report urged caution against the “alarmist” tone of discussions around climate change, with Tony Blair suggesting that they are “riven with irrationality” despite clear calls from climate scientists that the world has just a handful of years of remaining carbon budget. [28][29][30] Furthermore, the report promoted technologies including carbon capture and storage, which have not been proven to work on any scale, despite significant investment from the oil industry. [31][32][33][34] While the report also promoted the use of AI which, at the time that the report was published, was the biggest consumer of new fossil fuels and responsible for emissions larger than entire nations, while also having a considerable impact on water consumption and availability. [35][36][37][38]
The report was quickly coopted by climate deniers and political parties that have anti-net zero positions, such as Reform UK. [39][40][41][42]
In May 2025, it was revealed that the Institute had approached the Brazilian Government at the COP 30 climate summit, as it had advised the UAE and Azerbaijan at previous COP events[43].
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.[44]
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.[45]
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.[citation needed]
↑ [ttps://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/09/inside-the-tony-blair-institute/ "Inside the Tony Blair Institute"]. www.newstatesman.com. The New Statesman. 24 September 2025.
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