Jimbo 175 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Tycoon to donate £1bn to charity Sir Tom Hunter, Scotland's richest man, is pledging to give away at least £1bn to charity, the BBC has learned. The donation is thought to be the single most generous philanthropic commitment made by a Briton. The former owner of the Sports Division sports chain said it would take years to transfer all the cash, but that he was committed to doing it. He had already committed £100m to his charitable foundation to fight inequality in both Scotland and Africa. In an exclusive interview with the BBC's business editor Robert Peston, Sir Tom said he was concerned about the growing gap in the UK between the rich and poor and wanted to boost opportunities for those at the bottom. He added that putting the fruits of his labour to philanthropic use helped to motivate him as a wealth-creating businessman. He said: "There is more great wealth in fewer hands than ever before in history. "My own personal belief is that with great wealth comes great responsibility. "We've got all the material, goals have all been settled some time ago. So now the philanthropy is the real motivator to continue to make money." He joked: "First of all, I'm a Scotsman, so I'm not very good at giving money away." In April Sir Tom became Scotland's first home-grown billionaire. Ranking 60th equal in the UK, the tycoon has amassed a fortune of about £1.05bn. He grew up in the mining village of New Cumnock in Ayrshire, before attending the University of Strathclyde. He began his career by selling trainers from the back of a van and in 1984 founded the Sports Division chain. The company was sold to retailer JJB Sports in 1998, making Sir Tom an estimated £250m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus 0 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 The former owner of the Sports Division sports chain said it would take years to transfer all the cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31660 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 So effectively he's giving away all his money? I'd be pretty fucking pissed off if I was his kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia 0 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Wasn't he the 'mate' of Freddy's who wanted to buy us for him? It all makes sense now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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