News in brief: billionaires, books and becoming Second Lady

A lighthearted round up of news stories from Cambridge, including the closure of the Cambridge Museums shop a new study on University billionaires

A Cambridge grad, Kate Van der Borgh, has penned a “dark academia” novel set in a fictional Cambridge collegeLouis Ashworth for Varsity

by Varsity News

Sunday January 26 2025, 12:30pm

From Senate House to Second Lady

As JD Vance was inaugurated as the US Vice-President on Monday (20/01), his wife Usha Vance — a Cambridge graduate — became the Second Lady. Vance received an undergraduate degree at Yale University and a Master of Philosophy in early modern history at Clare College through the Gates Cambridge scholarship. Born in San Diego to Indian immigrant parents, she is the first Asian American and Hindu in the role.

Billionaire boys club

A new study has ranked the University of Cambridge as the UK university most likely to produce billionaires. QR Code Generator examined which universities were attended by the 23 UK-based billionaires — based on the 2024 Forbes World Billionaire list — that went to a UK university for all or part of their undergraduate education. Three of these went to Cambridge: Andrew Currie, John Reece, and Mark Coombs. With a combined net worth of £9.8 billion, they ensured Oxford (whose billionaire alumni are worth £4.18 billion) was reduced to second place.

Cambridge Museums shop shuts its doors

The University of Cambridge Museums shop on King’s Parade closed its doors for the final time last Wednesday (15/01) after ten years in business. According to the Cambridge Independent, no staff are losing their jobs and they are instead being relocated to the other museum shops in the Fitzwilliam Museum, the University Museum Of Zoology, and the Botanic Garden. A candle company is thought to be taking over the premises.

Dark academia hits the Backs

News in brief: ‘SU-permarket’ and alumnus marriage

A Cambridge grad, Kate Van der Borgh, has penned a “dark academia” novel set in a fictional Cambridge college. And He Shall Appear, Van der Borgh’s debut novel, draws on her own experiences of feeling like an outsider while at the University. The story revolves around a northern, working-class narrator navigating the privilege and exclusivity of a fictional Cambridge college while falling under the spell of a charismatic but sinister student. It turns out class isn’t just in the lecture halls!

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