Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith has labelled Australia’s richest people “greedy” and “selfish”.

The Australian newspaper is set to detail Australia’s 250 wealthiest individuals in their annual list, “The List: Australia’s Richest 250“, on Saturday.

Speaking to 6PR’s Liam Bartlett this morning Dick Smith said Australia’s most wealthy people should be doing more philanthropic work.

“I call the rich list … the greed list,” he said.

“If you are wealthy you have an obligation to openly give back and help people, that’s just common sense.

“The majority of those people, 85 per cent basically don’t give a cent to charity, they are greedy, they are selfish.”

Ahead of the release of “The List” The Australian have published a list of the top 25 philanthropists in the nation.

But director of Ethical Voice, Tim Costello, said the amount people are giving should reflect on the amount they earn.

“Are they really generous? Could they actually be doing much more?” he said.

“I welcome the fact that the mega rich are giving, but if you look at the proportion of what they are giving compared to the average Australian.”

Click play to hear the full interview. 

(Photo: iStock by Getty Images.)