Posted on 22nd October 2008
Billionaire Tory peer Lord Ashcroft has pledged to leave around £900m to charity in one of the largest charitable bequests ever made in the UK.
Lord Ashcroft, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, has pledged to give away around 80% of his fortune when he dies, to a charitable foundation that will be set up in his name. His family will inherit the rest of his estate and will be responsible for administering the foundation.
He said, “It will give my family and my kids something very enjoyable to do during their lives …. They’ve known my views for a long time. It’s not as if I’ve come from wealth and therefore when you have what is regarded by others as a large amount, sometimes it sits uneasily. I don’t think anybody should just be handed something on a platter.”
Lord Ashcroft announced the decision in a new epilogue to his book Dirty Politics, Dirty Times.
