Tycoon pledges £1bn to charity

Sir Tom Hunter, Scotland's richest man, has promised to give away at least £1bn to charity, making what is believed t be the single most generous philanthropic commitment made by a Briton.

Hunter's estimated wealth is £1.05bn and he says it will take years to transfer the cash, but that he is committed to giving it away. He has already given £100,000 to help fight inequality in Scotland and Africa.

Hunter made his millions from the Sports Division chain of shops and he now ranks equal 60th in The Sunday Times Rich List.

He told the BBC that he was concerned about the growing gap in the UK between rich and poor and wanted to boost opportunities for those at the bottom. The £1bn will be spent on venture philanthropy projects to combat poverty in Africa, support education projects in the developed world and tackle "the root causes of societal problems through holistic and systemic interventions".

*Hunter will be the lead speaker at the 'Raising funds from the Rich 2007' conference on 9 October in London. The conference is run by Action Planning in conjunction with Acevo, Coutts, Third Sector, UK Fundraising and CAF.