Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has announced that he is planning on leaving all of his $14.2 billion fortune to charity, and nothing to his children.

The 52-year-old, who is the second wealthiest person in Russia , made the announcement at the Russian Forbes Club last week. He said: “I’m not a big fan of this kind of public announcement, but I can say that I am going to leave all my money to charity. I don’t plan to leave any money to my children.”

Mr Fridman has four children, aged between 10 and 22. He told the audience at the Forbes Club that he wants them to follow in his footsteps and build a future of their own without his help. He also said that he worries that his eldest daughter, Laura, could be targeted by undesirable people because of her money.

A major patron of Jewish initiatives around the world, Mr Fridman helped fund the Russian Jewish Congress in 1996. He also founded the Genesis Philanthropy Group with fellow Russian Jewish billionaires Alexander Knaster, Pyotr Aven, and German Khan and Stan Polovets. The group established the Genesis Prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel prize” , to honour Jews who excel in the arts and sciences and strengthen the identity of the younger generation of Jews.

Ranked in 63rd place on Forbes’ world billionaires list earlier this year, the Ukraine-born oligarch made his fortune in the oil, banking and telecom industries.