Tycoon to donate £1bn to charity

Sir Tom Hunter will give away the money over the course of his life to good causes in the UK and developing countries through his charitable foundation, his spokesman said.

The entrepreneur and philanthropist told the BBC: "There is more great wealth in fewer hands today than ever before in history. My own personal belief is that with great wealth comes great responsibility. Therefore 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."

He added: "We've got all the material, goals have all been settled some time ago. So now the philanthropy is the real motivator to continue to make money."

His spokesman Ewan Hunter said: "Over the course of his life he intends to invest £1 billion into his foundation for the common good before he slips off this mortal coil."

He stressed that Sir Tom was not "seeking headlines" by making the announcement, but hoped to encourage others to "enjoy the benefits of philanthropy".

Sir Tom started out selling trainers from the back of a van and in 1984 founded the Sports Division chain of sports shops which he sold in 1998 to JJB Sports. Along with his wife Marion, he established the Hunter Foundation in 1998, which has donated millions to supporting development projects in the UK and abroad.

In April Sir Tom was named in The Sunday Times Rich List as Scotland's first home-grown billionaire.

His announcement came as a report found that Britain is becoming a segregated society, with the gap between rich and poor wider than it has been for over 40 years.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said that during the past 15 years there had been a rise in the number of households living below the poverty line - accounting for more than half of families in areas of some cities. At the same time households in already wealthy areas have become disproportionately better off, with many rich people now living in places segregated from the rest of society.