Millionaire offering free £120K flat to one lucky family

Marco Robinson, 48, of Preston, is giving away a £120,000 fully-furnished and mortgage-free three-bedroom apartment  for FREE. See rossparry story RPYFLAT: A millionaire who spend his childhood sleeping on park benches is giving away an entire flat. Marco Robinson, 48, is offering up the £120,000 fully-furnished and mortgage-free three-bedroom apartment to a suitable individual or family. The lucky winner will be selected over the course of the next six weeks through a documentary Marco is making alongside Channel 4.  Marco said he spent his childhood sleeping on park benches with his mum before he was hauled out of poverty.



A millionaire property developer who once slept on the streets is offering a three-bedroom flat for free.

Marco Robinson, 48, says he plans to give away the £120,000 fully-furnished apartment in Preston, Lancashire 'to give someone a lucky break like I was given'.

He says he'll support the lucky family longer-term, and will even pay the council tax on the property for as long as necessary.

He plans to choose the lucky new owner on the basis of gut feeling, and will be tracked by a Channel 4 documentary team.

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"The people who I want to see live in this flat are people who need a home, they need a sanctuary and some security, and that will make them feel significant again," he tells Metro.

"They need to be in desperate need with nobody helping them get out of the vicious cycle. I'm very confident from then, very quickly people will be able to turn their lives around."

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Father of two Mr Robinson now owns 150 properties around the world - but things weren't always this way. He was reportedly so poor as a child that he slept on park benches.

But, he says, "I asked for help and I got it from unlikely people. They helped me believe in myself."

Mr Robinson says he hopes to inspire other wealthy people to do the same.

It's not the first time a successful entrepreneur has made such a generous gesture. Three years ago, for example, Simon Cohen gave away his PR firm - which counted the Dalai Lama, the Prince of Wales and the Green Party amongst its clients - to two people he thought would build on its ethical stance.

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And many of the world's wealthiest people have already pledged to give a large proportion of their fortunes away.

In 2010, investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates launched the Giving Pledge, encouraging the super-rich to commit to donating at least half of their fortunes to charities and philanthropic causes either during their lifetimes or in their wills.

So far, more than 150 people have signed up.



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