An Australian former soldier who funded the restoration of the Vatican's Michelangelo frescoes has been named UK Australian of the Year for his philanthropic work.

Michael Hintze has been honoured for his work for the arts, and the poor and disadvantaged.

A key financial donor to the UK’s Conservative Party, Hintze is also an international patron of The Prince's Trust. With a personal fortune in excess of £270m, accrued through working on the financial markets as a hedge fund manager in the late 1980s, it is estimated that he has gven away about £27m.

He told Forbes magazine last year: "The more money I make, the more I can give. That is a big motivator for me."

His philanthropy has extended to giving more than £1m to help restore Michelangelo frescoes in the Vatican's Pauline chapel, over £2m to the Victoria and Albert Museum, and multi-million-dollar donations to the University of Sydney, his alma mater.

Introduced in 2005, the Australia Day Foundation UK award aims to recognise the achievements and contributions of the thousands of expat Australians living in Britain.