This charitable gift from the S. Korean President is remarkable. I am Lee Myung-Bak’s newest fan! It is really nice to see such an amazing and healthy perspective on the use of wealth. How many of us would willingly donate 80% of our “fortunes”?

Lee, who worked part-time at manual jobs to put himself through school and university, said he would never forget the people — mostly poor themselves — “who offered a hand to a poor boy during those trying times.”

“And I know that the best way for me to pay back such kindness is to give back to society what I earned,” he said.

Presidential officials described the donation as “unprecedented in the history of politics.”

Lee, 67, is a former construction executive and the first South Korean president from a business background.

He said the scholarship foundation reflects his long-time hope that his wealth should be used to help “those who really need it.”

“I am glad that today I am able to keep the promise,” he added, saying his wife and four children supported his decision.

S.Korean president shows ‘noblesse oblige’, donating personal wealth $26 mln for the needy – International Business Times.