Allan Hubbard died last night after a car accident. He was 83 years old and a man who had been on dialysis for many years because of a kidney disease. He was well known and admired by many people in his home town of Timaru. His South Canterbury Finance company helped farmers to buy land, animals and machinery for their farms. He was very generous and helped many people who needed money. Two years ago, he was the richest man in the South Island but he and his wife lived in a very modest house and he drove a 1968 VW car to work every day. In 2002, to celebrate that South Canterbury Finance was 75 years old, he gave $500, 000 to cancer research and many charities.
He was also admired because he had worked hard all his life. He had to leave school at 15 to work on a farm to help support his family who were poor. He studied at night school and later went to university part-time to become an accountant.
However, in the last 14 months, life had not been easy for him. First his company went bankrupt and the government had to pay $1.6bn to investors. His other companies were in trouble. Then the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged him with fraud. He said he had done nothing wrong and was waiting for his day in court next month to show this.
However, it will be some time now before we know any more about his financial matters.
Vocabulary
• dialysis – machine takes away waste water from the blood
• admire – really like and respect; noun – admiration; adjective – admirable
• a generous person gives money and other things to help people; noun – generosity
• modest – not expensive (the noun – modesty – has a different meaning)
• charities – organizations which raise money to help people; adjective – charitable
• investors – people who put their money in the company
• fraud is a crime where someone gains money by cheating; the verb is to defraud; adjective – fraudulent.
Questions
What happens now to the fraud charges against him?
Why do people admire someone who lives a simple life?