"setting up a family foundation"

What I wanted

Most of my life until now has been spent working to the point where often I didn't see my family for weeks. Now that I have fewer work commitments, I have decided to devote part of my time to sharing with my family the values I hold dear and that I would like to see passed on to the next generation: an enterprising spirit, a faith in the future and concern for others. I decided to set up a family foundation to enable us to be involved together in a charitable project.

How I'm doing it

We give out grants of around €12,000 to underprivileged teenagers. Our aim is to give them the minimum they need for around three to five years to help them finish an apprenticeship or their studies. This initiative has a knock-on effect.  By pushing these young people to work, we not only open the door to a better future, we are also providing them with an occupation at a time when many are tempted to fall into bad ways. My own children participate enthusiastically in this project.

 

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"to give back a little of what I received"

What I wanted

My childhood was a happy one; you could almost say idyllic. I did a wonderful course at University with one year in the US. When I started my professional life, I rose quickly to the top in a business where there was plenty of money.  I wouldn't say it was easy: I often had to struggle to have my say - with myself and with others. But overall, I have experience of life to know that I have been extremely privileged. And now I want to give something back: but more than that, I need to give something back.

How I'm doing it

I travelled a lot when I was young. When people speak of poverty in such and such a place, I often think of the people and things I saw on those trips. It seemed the most natural thing to try to do something for some of the neediest people in these countries: AIDS victims in Africa. I discovered an organisation that provides support to the sick and information to populations under threat. It has a good reputation. I have agreed to pay €70,000 every year for ten years. This money might help to save hundreds of lives.

 

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"to provide an outlet for ambitions"

What I wanted

My great passion is music. My piano teachers said that I had real talent. However, I wasn't sure that I had what it took to become a concert pianist. When I turned 18, I was faced with a choice, and I chose a safer career that worked out well for me. But I have remained passionate about music and a couple of years ago, I felt the need to get back into the area that had occupied so much of my teenage years. Philanthropy provided that opportunity.

How I'm doing it

I have the money, but not the genius. Others have the genius but not the money. I remembered once a few years ago during dinner at a friend's house, we were talking about a promising young pianist who had only a second-rate instrument to practise on. I decided that I would buy him a better instrument and set up a small trust for musicians. I had no idea how whether my venture would be successful, but little by little, I found myself donating Stradivarius violins to a number of players in the same situation.

 

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"to help others to commemorate his life and our experience "

What I wanted

Two brothers: me with my so-called 'normal' life, and the other down on his luck. My brother was severely disabled: his muscles were too weak to support him, he couldn't speak and the doctors said he was 90% blind. We were never really able to know what he thought or understood. He was 2 years younger than me and I always had a rather complex relationship with him. I loved him dearly but my love was completely powerless. We couldn't do anything for him. And then his heart gave up. He was only 22.

How I'm doing it

Once I had established myself, there was no choice in the matter - I had to help other handicapped children, to commemorate his life and my family's experience. Since then, I have been giving €40,000 a year to an institution that offers short periods of respite for young boys and girls suffering from the same disability. With no efficient treatment of this disease, I feel this is one of the few ways I can help.

 

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"to get involved in a project during my lifetime"

What I wanted

When I retired, I had enough money to live a very comfortable life, but no-one to leave it to. I wanted to give most of my wealth to a cause that I identified with and that went beyond ideological divisions: environmental protection. Being involved in this type of enterprise is a pleasure and it was something I wanted to do in my lifetime. I decided that I would find a cause myself by talking to people who had been doing this kind of thing for years, as my experience in the area was rather limited.

How I'm doing it

I found an organisation that was fighting to conserve a wetland area for wild birds. After I went to the marsh, I was won over by the enthusiasm of the ornithologists involved in the project. The marsh is home to dozens of different species, including some very rare ones. I set about buying hundreds of hectares of marshland costing about €400,000 in total and, under the watchful guidance of my partners, went about setting up a nature reserve open to the public.