Duke of Westminster gives £12.5m to the NHS: Prince George’s billionaire godfather, 29, makes Britain’s biggest personal donation to fight coronavirus after being ‘humbled’ by frontline staff
- Hugh Grosvenor, 29, is the richest under-30 in the world with £10.1bn wealth
- He is Prince George’s godfather and a close friend of the royal family
- Duke donated £2.5m last month but has pledged another £10m for April
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
The billionaire Duke of Westminster has pledged £12.5million to help the NHS in its fight against coronavirus.
Hugh Grosvenor, 29, is the richest person under the age of 30 in the world with an estimated worth of £10.1billion.
The Duke donated £2.5million to the Health Service last month but says he was so ‘humbled’ by the work of doctors and nurses he wanted to give another £10million.
His new pledge means he is now the biggest donor in Britain, towering the money given by a host of celebrities including James McAvoy and Piers Morgan.
The Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, 29, (pictured in June 2018) has become the UK’s largest NHS donor after pledging £12.5million in the fight against coronavirus
The Duke is pictured with his close friend Prince William at an Army event in Leeds in June 2018
The billionaire landowner is pictured at the wedding of Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks in August 2018
The landowner, who is Prince George’s godfather a close friend of the royal family, is donating most of his money to NHS Charities Together, to provide respite, rehabilitation and mental health assistance to NHS staff and their families.
He said in a statement: ‘On behalf of my family and everyone at the Grosvenor Estate, I want to say a huge thank you to all our amazing NHS staff and everyone providing critical frontline services.’
‘We are all humbled and incredibly grateful that you are working tirelessly to keep us safe and keep the country functioning.
‘NHS staff and key workers don’t work in isolation. They have children and families whose health and wellbeing will also be highly impacted by this crisis.
‘As they keep us safe, I want to help provide as much support to them and their families as we can.’
Captain Tom Moore is doing 100 lengths of his garden in Bedfordshire before he turns 100-years-old on April 30. So far his sponsored walk has raised more than £5million
Mr Grosvenor’s contribution comes after 99-year-old Second World War hero Captain Tom Moore raised £5million for doing 100 lengths of his garden with the help of a zimmer frame.
The war veteran plans to have completed 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire by his 100th birthday on April 30.
Today his fundraising page reached a staggering £5million in donations, with 90,000 people logging on at once to support his efforts to help the NHS.
Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan branded him a ‘hero’ on the show and donated £10,000 of his own money.
Captain Moore’s family wrote on his behalf on Twitter: ‘5 MILLION! Huge thank you to @JustGiving who had over 90,000 people on Tom’s page at one time, and had to try ensure that the site didn’t crash.
‘WOW – just speechless. #walkwithtom #tomorrowwillbeagoodday.’