Glenn: I'll want return on buy-out

Owen Glenn. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Unlike his multimillion-dollar handouts to education and sports, entrepreneur and philanthropist Owen Glenn is not putting his 50 per cent buy-out of the Warriors in the do-gooder category.

Philanthropy does not expect a return on its largesse, he says, and he will want money back on his investment in the rugby league franchise.

He appears to have softened his own rules, as specified in December. He was quoted as saying said he would invest in sport for a return only if offered total control and a minimum 20 per cent pre-tax return.

Mr Glenn insisted he had until then confined his support of sport to donations, such as $1 million offered to the Hockey Foundation if it matches that sum by the end of this month.

His biggest sport donation was in 2010, when he gave $3.85 million to the Albany-based Millennium sporting institute.

He gave $7.5 million to the University of Auckland Business School in 2002. He was rewarded with an honorary doctorate from the university last month, despite leaving Mt Roskill Grammar School at 15 and having no formal qualifications while building a global shipping company.

His also helped to set up the 2011 Sir Howard Morrison Foundation, which awards scholarships to young performers with exceptional potential.

Mr Glenn's political donations include $500,000 to Labour and $100,000 to New Zealand First in 2005, although he supported National before last year's election.

He also donated $1 million to the Christchurch earthquake recovery fund.