K Foundation - The K Foundation Burn A Million Quid

The K Foundation Burn A Million Quid

On the 23 August 1994, in a boathouse on the Scottish island of Jura, Drummond and Cauty incinerated £1,000,000 in cash. The burning was witnessed by an old friend of Drummond's, freelance journalist Jim Reid, who subsequently wrote an article about the ceremony for The Observer. It was filmed on Super 8 by their friend Gimpo.

Reid admitted to first feeling shock and guilt about the burning, which quickly turned to boredom. The money took well over an hour to burn as Drummond and Cauty fed £50 notes into the fire. Drummond later said that only about £900,000 of the money was actually burnt – the rest flew straight up the chimney. The press reported that an islander handed £1,500 into the police; the money had not been claimed and would be returned to the finder.

On 23 August 1995, exactly one year after the burning, Drummond and Cauty returned to Jura for the premier screening of the film, now known as Watch the K Foundation Burn a Million Quid. The film was then toured around the UK over the next few months (plus one showing in Belgrade), with a Q&A session at the end of each screening where members of the audience asked Drummond and Cauty why they burnt the money and also offered their own interpretations.