Albert Gubay, the multi-millionaire Kwik Save tycoon, has given his vast business empire to charity to fulfil a “pact with God” that he made as a young man struggling to earn a living.
The devout Roman Catholic vowed to hand over half his fortune to the Church if he ever became rich when he was working as a penniless sweets-seller in Wales after the Second World War.
Instead, at the age of 82, he has fulfilled the deal by giving almost his entire £480 million estate to a new charitable foundation, keeping less than £10 million to see out his old age.
Mr Gubay, who amassed his riches after founding the Kwik Save supermarket chain in 1965, will continue running his companies until he dies and hopes to push to value of his empire to more than £1 billion.
After his death, the newly-founded Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation will receive an estimated income of £20 million a year from the businesses.
The Welsh tycoon has stipulated that half the income must be invested in the Roman Catholic Church, in line with his “pact”, while the rest can be distributed at the discretion of the trustees.
Mr Gubay, who now lives in Santon on the Isle of Man with his second wife Carmel, described his “50/50” deal with God in a 1997 television documentary made by RTE, the Irish broadcaster. He said he had told God in his prayers: “Make me a millionaire and you can have half of my money”.
He has now joined a line of businessmen who have handed over much of their wealth to charity in recent years.
Lord Sainsbury, the supermarket tycoon and one of Britain’s richest men, last year handed over £1bn to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and instructed the trustees to spend all the money on scientific research, the arts and projects in east Africa before he dies.
Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party currently embroiled in a row over his tax status, has established a foundation to receive 80 per cent of his estimated £1.1 billion fortune after his death.
Karl Rabeder, an Austrian millionaire, announced last month that he was giving away every penny of his £3 million fortune after realising that being rich was making him unhappy.
Mr Gubay ranked 107th on The Sunday Times Rich List in 2009, but will disappear from this year’s list following his donation.
John Nugent, chairman of the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, said: “Albert is a very frugal man and has dedicated his life to good causes.
“He wants this work to continue after his death and he has given a lot of thought to this arrangement. His priority now is to maximise the asset base of the company. He is confident he can push the worth to £1 billion before he dies.
“With these arrangements he is keeping to the pact and going well beyond it.”
Mr Gubay, who began his business career selling non-sugar sweets in Wales during post Second World War sugar rationing, founded the first Kwik Save store in 1965 and went on to sell the supermarket chain for £14 million in 1973. The chain went into administration in 2007.
He went on to found the Total Fitness network of gyms, which he sold in 2004 for £70 million, and has since built a vast property empire.
The property group Derwent Holdings is among several dozen companies being transferred to the new charitable trust.
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