Philip Wollen — was vice president of Citibank, specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions.
At age 34, he was rated by Australian Business Magazine in their Top 40 Australian head-hunted executives. At age 40, he witnessed cruelty on such a colossal scale that it affected him profoundly. He decided to give away everything he owned with warm hands, and die broke. ‘And so far, we are right on budget,’ he jokes.
Today he devotes his life to children, animals, the environment, the terminally ill, the homeless and the arts. He supports over 500 humanitarian projects in over 40 countries with schools, orphanages, shelters, sanctuaries, clinics, and scholarships.
In 2005 he received the Order of Australia. In 2007 he was Australian of the Year, Victoria. The Australia Day Council said of him, ‘Essentially a private man, Philip Wollen seeks no personal publicity but is not afraid to step into the limelight for a just cause.’
