Name and shame Australia’s billionaires for their lack of philanthropy, says Dick Smith

Australia’s billionaires should be named and shamed for their shocking lack of philanthropy, says entrepreneur Dick Smith.

Dick Smith says Australia’s billionaires should be named and shamed for their lack of philanthropy. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Australia’s billionaires should be named and shamed for their shocking lack of philanthropy, says entrepreneur Dick Smith, in a call for the nation’s super-rich to adopt an American philanthropic ethos.

Mr Smith, who founded an electronics empire and is known for environmental and other charitable works, said only 15 per cent of Australian billionaires were known philanthropists.

“In America, they have this wonderful ethos that if you’re wealthy, you have to be known as a public philanthropist — or you can’t even join the local club,” Mr Smith told The Australian.

“Whereas here, such a tiny percentage — only 15 per cent — of billionaires are known as philanthropists. These billionaires have doubled their wealth in the past five years in Australia but typical Australians have kept even or gone back a bit.

“I’m concerned we’ll have what happened in Russia, where in the end the poor people will just revolt and destroy the economic system.”

Speaking ahead of an address to a charity in Hobart, Mr Smith called on “rich list” publications to include information about the philanthropic record of those listed.

“I’m told by a person who retired from the tax department that about a third of billionaires in Australia pay no tax at all,” he said.

Mr Smith was due to speak this afternoon at a function in Hobart for the Shepherd Foundation, which assists children with hearing difficulties.

He said the charity required $5m from government and the same from other sources in order to establish a Tasmanian centre, with estimates of 300 children requiring assistance in the state.