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He is not the first multimillionaire to quit the world of commerce and vow to give his entire fortune to charity. But few can have put their money where their mouth is with such conviction as Brian Burnie. Once the owner of a £16million mansion, the 70-year-old now lives off his pension in a small flat and drives a battered Ford Fiesta. The former recruitment firm boss pledged to dedicate his life to helping women with breast cancer after his wife was diagnosed with the disease. But it emerged yesterday that the couple divorced after Shirley, his wife of almost 30 years, grew fed up with his addiction to parting with everything the family had worked for. ‘I didn’t intend to have to beat cancer and then spend the rest of my life living in a house like this and doing everything for everyone else,’ said Mrs Burnie, 66, who made a full recovery. ‘I’m sick of bloody charity and the hard work – we all are. I didn’t want to give everything away. We needed a home and an income and we have three children. I wanted security for us and our family.’ Born in a Newcastle bedsit, Mr Burnie grew up in a home without an indoor toilet and began working life as a grocery delivery boy aged 15. After building successful businesses in construction and recruitment, he turned his ten-acre Northumberland estate into a £16million luxury hotel and spa. But following his wife’s diagnosis a decade ago, Mr Burnie began to focus on charity. It was not a total surprise – at their wedding in 1981, he insisted they ask for donations to charity instead of presents. | 
