Jeff Kennett: Who will be Victoria’s next Alfred Felton?

IN 1853, Englishman Alfred Felton left the bulk of his estate to the creation of The Felton Bequest, which is perhaps, even today, the most important act of generosity by any Australian individual, writes Jeff Kennett.

IN 1853 an Englishman Alfred Felton moved to Victoria, a year before the Eureka uprising.

He worked hard all his life, and on his death in 1904 he left the bulk of his estate to the creation of The Felton Bequest.

Felton established the bequest with a sum of £308,000, a huge amount in those days, which in today’s money would be the equivalent of more than $50 million.

Felton was a man ahead of his time, and from the income each year, about $2m annually, he directed that half should go to charities for women and children, and the other half to art for the National Gallery of Victoria.

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The Felton Bequest today has a corpus of about $46 million and distributes about $2 million a year in line with his wishes.

Importantly over the 114 years since his death, the NGV has been able to buy works of art now valued at about $2 billion. His bequest is responsible for about 80 per cent of the NGV’s collection.

His bequest is perhaps, even today, the most important act of generosity by any Australian individual. He established a Trust to be managed by others well beyond his death because he clearly identified how the income would be distributed each year.

‘Alfred Felton’ by artist John Longstaff.

The question is who will be Victoria’s next Alfred Felton?

Never has there been more money in the community. Not only among long-standing families and individuals, but increasingly among younger people who through creativity have generated massive wealth.

The next two decades promise the greatest transfer of wealth from one generation to the next — an estimated $3 trillion in Australia over the next 20 years .

There are today about 3.5 million Australians over 65 years, many with substantial wealth which will be transferred to younger generations, or some hopefully to good causes.

Many rich citizens have set up family foundations into which they have placed funds, from which income can be distributed in the future. But will those foundations grow the corpus to ensure the foundation lives beyond 100 years as has The Felton Bequest.

I am chairman of Equity Trustees EQT, that manages the Felton Bequest with a board of trustees.

Since 2008 I have learnt more about philanthropy and how it exists and is managed. Australian life would be worse off without the generosity of so many.

What impresses me so much about Felton was his vision.

Although a bachelor he directed the income from his good fortune to be directed to women and children, and to the importance of the arts in the young but growing cultural city of Melbourne.

When talking with some of my high-wealth friends, I mention the Felton Bequest and how Felton lives forever.

Art benefactor Alfred Felton.

I suggest there is only so much wealth they might leave their children or grandchildren. After all, how much money does an individual or family need to live a very comfortable life?

How often do we see the existence of wealth as the cause of unhappiness within families?

I suggest they should emulate Felton and put some of their wealth into an independent trust, one of their children perhaps acting as a trustee, to distribute the income for the rest of time.

I salute those individuals, families and companies who give generously to good causes, but I also think how their hard work and good fortune can have a lasting impact on Victorian life.

I have often talked about not having a cosmopolitan city without a strong cultural heart. Victoria has that heart not only in Melbourne but in many regional cities in their galleries and creative centres.

Think about our art centres in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Castlemaine.

I have always admired the colonial judge Redmond Barry — best known as the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to hang — who in the 1880s had the vision to pave the way for the building of the State Library, Melbourne University and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. A true visionary, from whom we have all benefited.

Felton was an equal of Barry. He worked hard all his life, and shared his success with us, forever. His is the gift that keeps on giving.

So, who is the next Alfred Felton? Or who are the next Alfred Feltons, who through their generosity are going to live forever?

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is former premier of Victoria