I’ll give £1billion away when I die. The kids will still be filthy rich but leaving them it all doesn’t make the world a fairer place

MOBILE phone magnate John Caudwell has revealed plans to give away the vast majority of his mega wealth. The entrepreneur, who made a fortune selling Phones4u, has pledged to donate 70% of his riches to good causes – at least £1billion as it stands.

Mr Caudwell, already one of Britain’s biggest philanthropists, announced the pledge, up from a previous 50% commitment, during our exclusive interview.

The other 30% of his current £1.5billion fortune will be split between his five children, Rebekah, 39, Libby, 31, Rufus, 23, Scarlett, 17 and Jacobi, 15.

He says: “I don’t want my kids to be broke, but if you left your kids your entire wealth, that does nothing to rebalance the rich-poor divide.

“If they are worth several billion, what about giving most of that away and just leaving a few hundred million to the kids? They’re still filthy rich, they can still ruin their lives.

“I don’t think leaving your kids filthy rich is going to be good for them. And if it is good for them, it probably isn’t any good for their kids, so sooner or later, the chickens come home to roost.”

The bold move came as the 66-yearold businessman, now a property mogul, turned his fire on tax-avoiding wealthy individuals and multi-nationals.

The tycoon claims he has paid more than £300million in UK incomes taxes in the past 10 years.

Mr Caudwell splits his time between Britain, where he owns 50-room £12million Jacobean Broughton Hall in Staffordshire and lavish homes in Mayfair in London and Monaco, where his glamorous girlfriend Modesta Vzesniauskaite, a former Lithuanian cycling champion, aged 35, is based.

His trappings of wealth also include a fleet of cars, a helicopter he flies and 73-metre superyacht the Titania.

“I could easily be in Monaco with my girlfriend and paying no tax,” he says.

INTERVIEW With Mirror’s Graham in London home