TYCOON DONATES $1B FORTUNE

Retailing on Three Continents: Discount Food Stores of Albert Gubay
A rare and vanishing breed...

 --------------------------
LONDON - 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.

At the age of 82, he has fulfilled the deal by giving almost his entire £480 million ($1 billion) 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 the value of his empire to more than £1 billion.

The Welsh tycoon has stipulated that half the income must be invested in the Roman Catholic Church, in line with his "pact". He said he had told God in his prayers: "Make me a millionaire and you can have half of my money."

Taken from TODAYOnline.com, Tuesday, 23-Mar-2010
----------

Related articles by Zemanta

• 5 reviews of Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal (rateitall.com)
• Europe's Roman Catholic Church Facing Child Abuse Allegations (brainz.org)
• Roman Catholic Church In Switzerland Investigating Ten Cases Of Molestation (lezgetreal.com)
• Jeff Danziger: Exorcising the Vatican (huffingtonpost.com)
• German government to establish panel on abuse (ctv.ca)
• reBlog from Dprosenthal: Rep Woolsey Calls For IRS Investigation of The Roman Catholic Church (oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com)
• Pac-Man's mom wants him to quit boxing (canada.com)
• Letters: I am ashamed - the pope should resign (guardian.co.uk)
• Sinéad O'Connor: "We have the mentality of a battered wife" (lezgetreal.com)
• Kwik Save tycoon gives up riches in 'pact with God' (telegraph.co.uk)