Dick Smith, the Australian entrepreneur, has blasted Australia’s wealthiest as “appalling and greedy” after they ignored his calls to donate one fifth of their income to charity.
AAP reports that Mr. Smith two weeks ago wrote to the executives of the country’s biggest four banks, calling on them to make a Christmas donation of 20 percent of their income, and all but one ignored him.
Only Ralph Norris, CEO of the Commonwealth Bank, replied, saying that he privately gave to charity.
Mr. Smith, an aviation enthusiast and founder of one of the country’s biggest electronics retail chains, told reporters at Sydney’s Wayside Chapel for the homeless that he gave away well over 20 percent of his income each year.
"People who are worth well over a hundred million dollars—for some reason they don't give anything,” Mr. Smith said, according to AAP.
"If they were giving their money away, it's amazing what happens with karma," Smith continued. "The right things would happen for them.”
His comments are likely to find favour with the Australian public. Australian banks were heavily criticized last month for increasing mortgage rates above and beyond a 0.25 percentage point raise by Australia’s central bank at a time when they are enjoying record profitability.
