Andrew Forrest believes the huge scale of the philanthropic donation made by his family will encourage other wealthy people to follow suit, leading to a new age of Australian giving.
On Monday, the iron ore baron turned social policy benefactor unveiled ambitious targets for the unprecedented $400 million his family has devoted to international cancer research, early childhood education, and social cohesion.
Through it he hopes to catalyse government and private sector co-investment and also to inspire other wealthy private citizens to give back to their communities.
Graham and Louise Tuckwell, who have pledged more than $200 million to the Australian National University in recent years, have expressed a similar hope.
Speaking from London, Mr Tuckwell heaped praise on Mr Forrest and his wife, Nicola, for "leading the way" through their $400 million donation, which has set a record as the largest donation to charity from any living person in Australian history.
Mr Tuckwell, who went public with his support for the ANU in 2013 and again in 2016, said he had been encouraged to speak about it publicly because the best way to develop momentum in philanthropy was to make it known large gestures were possible and worthwhile.
"It's absolutely fantastic what Twiggy and Nicola are doing, just sensational, there's no other word for it ... we haven't seen that before," he said.
Aware Australia's philanthropic tradition lags behind that of the United States, Mr Forrest encouraged all Australians to give back, through money or time.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten applauded the West Australian's generosity, with Mr Turnbull branding it an "extraordinary act" and an example of "love, generosity and leadership".
"This is not extracted from you by force of law, this is a matter of conviction, of your love and your commitment," Mr Turnbull told Mr Forrest at a Parliament House ceremony chaired by Hollywood star Russell Crowe.
"All of us know that, no matter how successful, know that if life's wheel had turned somewhat differently, we could be much less well off, much less well situated.
"All of us who have done well have been blessed by good fortune. So the generous person, the loving person gives back."
Along with his wife, Lucy, Mr Turnbull is known to have donated to charities in the past, and helped fund his own re-election campaign with an unprecedented $1.75 million gift to the Liberal Party in 2016.
While political and community leaders expressed delight at the Forrests' donation, social media questioned their motives, including whether Mr Forrest would enjoy some kind of tax advantage.
Mr Tuckwell said that was a misunderstanding of taxation law and liabilities. He said that even where donations were tax deductible, donations would at best be only partly offset by any reduced liability.
"The fact is, you've still got to give away the money, whether you're giving away $100 million and it's really only costing you $55 million or $60 million, or whatever; the fact is, you're a lot further out of pocket."
