RAVENSHEAD millionaire Barclay Littlewood has shown his charitable side after agreeing to donate £1 to Comic Relief for every student, academic and lecturer who signs up to his mailing list.
The entrepreneur and owner of controversial company Academic Answers –– Britain's largest custom essay empire –– made the pledge after his staff decided how much he should give away.
"While I could just pick a random figure from my head, there's n
o fun in just giving money away," he said.
"I think there are a lot of people who would like to see me pay a lot, so why not do it in the name of charity?"
The sale of essays by Academic Answers has proved controversial, with frequent accusations from universities that the business encourages plagiarism. But Barclay claims the essays are sold to help students with their research.
"More and more people are realising that they have a right to choose how they learn, whether it is using a company like ours or speaking to a friend on Facebook.
"The essays should be used properly, as a reference point, so you can elucidate certain points that you are not clear with.
"I know I am seen as a bit of a bad guy by some people –– this pledge is a big opportunity for all university lecturers and other detractors of what we do to get their own back and make me pay up for what they say are ill-gotten gains.
The challenge resulted in Mr Littlewood making a £1,231 donation to this year's Comic Relief fund and the 30-year-old –– who is reputed to be worth around £7m according to the Sunday Times' Rich List –– says his company is looking to make further charitable donations in the future.
"I have learnt a lot about myself in the last few years," he said.
"At first, like a lot of people, it was just good to make money and to have the Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but now we are thinking of what else we can do and how we can be of greater significance."
"We're looking at various ideas including funding a school in Ghana so they have the basic skills to succeed in the future."
Barclay says he has a passion for helping people succeed in the workplace, but insists that the current university system is not geared towards giving students practical skills required for their careers.
"Universities are run like businesses where they churn out students with degrees but there is not enough support for them in terms of practical skills and training.
"A lot of people go to university, have a good time, but come out not really knowing how to use their degree."
