I'll match Band Aid proceeds, tycoon promises
Millionaire British businessman Tom Hunter has pledged to donate up to £7m (€10.2m) to Band Aid by matching the proceeds of the chart-topping single and the Live Aid DVD.
Mr Hunter said he was inspired to donate the money by a recent documentary which suggested the situation in Ethiopia had barely improved since 1984.
Speaking to The Scotsman today, Mr Hunter said: “We do have a real chance to eradicate world poverty in our lifetime.
“We can make a difference and with the G8 meeting in Gleneagles next year, we need to let the world know the situation needs to change.
“I’d been watching a documentary at home and what was striking for me was how little things had actually changed.
“Everyone who works there and the people behind the first Band Aid all worked with the best intentions and the current plans are very good, but we all need to do our bit.”
Mr Hunter told the paper he would match every £10 (€14.58) spent on the concert DVD and every £4 (€5.83) on Band Aid 20’s Do The Know It’s Christmas?
The tycoon met Sir Bob Geldof in London to inform him of his intentions after discussions with the scriptwriter Richard Curtis, who is the driving force behind the Make Poverty History campaign.
Band Aid 20’s cover of Do They Know It’s Christmas? Features Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Dido, Robbie Williams and U2 frontman Bono, who sang on the 1984 original.
It has topped the charts for two weeks and is expected to be confirmed as the Christmas number one on Sunday.
Earlier this year Mr Hunter announced he planned to give £100m (€146m) of his fortune to charity.
He confirmed the money would be donated to his own charitable institution The Hunter Foundation and used to help children with their education and sharpen their enterprise skills.
The Ayrshire-born tycoon is the richest Scottish national with a fortune of £500m (€729m), according to the Sunday Times rich list.
