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Tory peer to 'pledge half his £1.2bn fortune to charity'

Lord Michael Ashcroft chats with London Mayor Boris Johnson at 2012's Spectator Magazine's Parliamentarian of the Year Awards. Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Tory peer and billionaire Lord Ashcroft is to pledge at least half of his £1.2bn fortune to charity, according to newspaper reports.

He will join a philanthropic movement led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, America’s two richest men, according to The Sunday Times.

The former Tory treasurer will next month sign up to the Giving Pledge, a public commitment by billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth.

Lord Ashcroft has given the party £10m but will not help to fund its general election campaign.