It was announced by the Department of Education and Skills in 2005 that Mr. Khayami had become a sponsor of the UK Government’s Academy program and had sponsored two academies which opened in Sheffield during 2007. Both academies are run by a leading Anglican Church School Trust. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as an honorary CBE in 2011 for services to education.He appeared in the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List.On 3 June 2007, the Observer reported that he had donated £1 million to the Labour Party (one of the most generous ever donations to Labour, eclipsed only by a £2m donation from the steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, and a similar sum given by Lord Sainsbury).