The Business Ethics Blog

A news story this week indicated that Body Shop founder Anita Roddick would be giving away her entire fortune of approximately $110 million.
Here’s the story as reported on telegraph.co.uk

She said: “I am going to start giving it away. I hope that before I die there will be a financial foundation. All my wealth is in the shares. My intention is to give my money away.

“I don’t want to die rich. Money does not mean anything to me. The worst thing is greed – the accumulation of money. I don’t know why people who are extraordinarily wealthy are not more generous.”

But don’t too excited about heading to your local Body Shop, cap-in-hand, just yet. An explanation posted on Roddick’s own website clarifies that while Roddick does indeed plan eventually to give away her entire fortune, doing so is a long-term plan:

“What I am going to do is set up a charitable foundation, through which donations will be made to groups and individuals that show leadership in the areas of global justice, human rights, environmental action and grassroots organising. But we won’t be accepting unsolicited requests. There aren’t any immediate plans to set this foundation up….”

(Thanks to Andrew for the tip.)