Scotland’s wealthiest woman has been inspired by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates to donate £250m to charity
A millionaire Scottish business woman has vowed to give away half of her fortune to good causes.
Stagecoach tycoon Ann Gloag added her name to Bill Gates' The Giving Pledge Campaign promising to donate £250 million before she dies.
It is so important that those of us who have enjoyed fortune in business utilise our skills and knowledge in philanthropy to empower people to help themselves
In a letter to the campaign she said from a young age she and her brothers were taught to give to those less fortunate than themselves, no matter how little they had.
She added: “That ethos has remained at the core of our family since childhood and, today, thanks to my business success, I am very fortunate to be able to help many thousands of women and children in Africa."
The 71-year-old made her fortune by using her father’s redundancy money to establish the Stagecoach Group in 1980 with her brother Sir Brian Souter and husband Robin Gloag.
She is renowned for her charity work including her own foundations which works to alleviate poverty in the UK and overseas.
Her letter continued: “It is so important that those of us who have enjoyed fortune in business utilise our skills and knowledge in philanthropy to empower people to help themselves.
“Through my foundations, I hope to contribute to improving the lives of women and children for many years to come and I am honoured to join the Giving Pledge.”
By signing up to the pledge Gloag has made a moral, not a legal, promise to donate her fortune.
