Monday, July 23, 2007

The Second Age Of Philanthropy (from Sunday Herald)

The Second Age Of Philanthropy (from Sunday Herald): "THEY CAME, they conquered and then they gave it all away. Eight-figure generosity used to be a rare thing indeed, but 21st century capitalism is breeding a new species of billionaire, and their cash could soon be coming to a community near you.

Leading the charge for a whole new generation of wealthy philanthropists, Sir Tom Hunter raised the charity bar last week with the announcement that he intends to redirect over £1bn of his personal fortune into deserving projects worldwide. Already marked as one of the UK's most benevolent donors, his latest pledge to pour funds into a vast array of initiatives from Scotland to Africa has propelled him into the benefactor big league, placing him on a par with such legendary donors as Carnegie, Rockefeller and Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates.

'With great wealth comes great responsibility. There is more great wealth in fewer hands than ever before in history, and you've got to take care of these things if wealth creation is still going to be seen as a positive force by the rest of the population,' said Sir Tom, the day after a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed the gap between the rich and poor in Britain was at its starkest in 40 years."

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