Posted on 29th November 2007
Leaving school at fifteen to support his family, Peter Cruddas, the now successful City entrepreneur, has announced he wishes to donate £1bn to charity in his lifetime.
Mr Cruddus’ long-term ambition to be a philanthropist emerged after he agreed to sell a 10% stake in CMC Markets, the spread-betting group he founded 18 years ago, to Goldman Sachs in a transaction thought to value the company at as much as £1.4bn.
He said that in his lifetime he hopes to give away £1bn to charity.
If he is to fulfill his target he will need to keep working as he intends to retain a controlling stake in CMC, and says he turned down Goldman's request to buy between 20% and 25%. That means his charitable donations will have to be funded in the near-term from the business's dividends.
