Entrepreneur’s charity pledge over dot-com fortune
THE founder of AO.com, who made more than £500m when the Bolton company floated, says he doesn’t want to leave his fortune to his five children.
John Roberts, 40, told The Sunday Times, he will instead donate the cash to charity, mirroring the stance of other super-wealthy entrepreneurs such as Microsofts’ Bill Gates.
Mr Roberts made £86m when he sold some of his shares in AO – formerly known as Appliances Online – when it floated with a market capitalisation of £1.6bn.
He retains a 27% stake worth an estimated £442m, putting his personal wealth at around £528m.
The former appliances salesman, who was working at Old Trafford-based Limelight group before leaving to strike out on his own after a £1 bet from a friend, left school without qualifications and was raised in Bolton, where he still lives with his wife and five children aged between two and 17.
He is determined his children won’t become ‘trust babies’.
He told the newspaper: “One of the things I’ve been able to have is a fantastic sense of achievement. George Best’s son is forever George Best’s son rather than being who he is with his own identity.”
He added: “My daughter’ who’s the eldest, wants to go and be a teacher. Imagine if she had millions of pounds in a trust. She’d sit in the staff room and everyone would look at her differently, and I’d never want that for them. I never had that problem. So we’re very cognisant of trying to keep life as normal as possible.”
He is considering putting his wealth into a charitable trust.
TheBusinessDesk.com understands that millions of pounds has already poured into the coffers of North West charities as a result of the AO floatation.
Veteran businessmen Bill Holroyd and Norman Stoller, two angel investors who backed the business in the early years, are said to have made very generous donations to good causes in the region.
