Trevor Pears: Leading by Example
Millionaire Trevor Pears swapped his business career to become a full-time philanthropist.
from London Evening Standard:
Let’s all make it a bumper year for good causes, says man who gave away £30m
He might be said quietly to embody the philosophy of 19th-century British financier Moses Montefiore who, asked about his worth, famously declared: “We are worth what we are willing to share with others.”
As chief executive of the Pears Foundation, set up with his brothers Mark, 49, and David, 44, he has given away £30million to charitable causes in the last five years.
… Asked what percentage of his giving goes to Jewish causes, he says: “My Jewish identity is important to me personally, but not to my philanthropy. About 20 per cent of our budget is spent in Israel, but the recipients aren’t necessarily Jewish. One of our seminal programmes there is with Hebrew University in which we’ve supported about 80 students from Africa and Asia to do a Masters in public health and agriculture and then return to their countries with the skills they’ve acquired.”