Tributes have poured in from charities for philanthropist and Prince’s Charities trustee Eva Rausing, who was found dead at her home yesterday.
Rausing, who was married to £5bn Tetra-Pak heir Hans Rausing and whose father was an executive at Pepsi, was a prolific supporter of charities, notably in the area of drug and alcohol addiction.
Reacting to the news of her sudden death a spokesman for the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, of which Rausing was a trustee, said:
"Our condolences have been sent following this tragic news. The Rausings have been long-term supporters of the education work of the Prince's Foundation, and we have appreciated their generosity and commitment."
Drug abuse prevention charity for children, Mentor UK, also paid tribute to Rausing, who was patron of the charity until 2010 and had donated over £500,000 to the organisation.
A spokesman for the charity said: “Mrs Eva Rausing was a former patron of Mentor in the UK and the Eva and Hans K Rausing Trust has made very generous contributions to Mentor over the years in our work to protect children from alcohol and drugs. We were very sorry to learn from media reports about the death of Mrs Rausing and offer our sincerest condolences to her family and friends.”
Rausing, who during her life had struggled with drug addiction, donated generously to many drug and alcohol addiction charities.
She was patron of the Chemical Dependency Centre, and had been a trustee of drug and alcohol addiction charity Clouds. When both organisations merged into Action on Addiction, she remained a supporter of the new organisation and donated millions over several years.
A spokesman for the charity said: “Everyone involved with Action on Addiction is devastated to hear the news of Eva Rausing’s untimely death.
"Without any desire for public recognition, Eva has, through her wonderfully generous support of this and other charities, helped so many people for over 20 years.
"We offer our deepest sympathy to Eva’s family at this time of great loss."
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