Scottish billionaire Sir Tom Hunter has pledged to increase the total haul from the 2020 Kiltwalk fundraising events by 50%, which could bring in a further £500,000 for charities.
Hunter boosted last year’s total by 40%, taking the pot up to £7 million from £5 million. This year, he’s going one step further by offering further support to the 25,000 participants who are expected to don their kilts and walk through Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Hunter said: “Kiltwalk is the lowest-cost platform in Scotland for charity fundraisers to walk for what they care about. Everyone is making a big difference all over Scotland, so we’ve decided to ‘up the ante’ and boost their fundraising with a 50% top-up.”
Organisers said that charity leaders were “shocked and delighted” by Hunter’s generosity. In 2017, Hunter promised to donate £1 billion from his personal fortune to good causes over his lifetime, following in the footsteps of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Hunter pocketed £252 million when he sold his Sports Division clothing business to JJB Sports in 1998 at the age of just 37. By 2001, his investments through West Coast Capital saw him being hailed as Scotland’s first homegrown billionaire.
Scotland’s Kiltwalk season kicks off in Glasgow on 26 April, before shifting to Aberdeen on 7 June, Dundee on 16 August and finishing in Edinburgh on 13 September. As well as The Hunter Foundation, the events’ other sponsors are car retailer Arnold Clark and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
