Introduction:
Today, I want to share an incredible story of a man whose greatness knows no bounds and whose selfless dedication to uplifting humanity as a whole is truly inspiring. This extraordinary individual is none other than Chuck Feeney, a name that has resonated worldwide for his remarkable contributions stemming from his vast wealth.
Chuck Feeney, a true trailblazer in the world of duty-free shops and a savvy investor in technology startups, quietly bequeathed almost his entire $8 billion fortune to charitable causes. His life’s work mirrored the way he accumulated his wealth, and on a somber note, he passed away in San Francisco at the age of 92.The news of Charles Francis Feeney AC’s passing on October 9, 2023, was announced by the Atlantic Philanthropies, a group of organizations he established and generously funded in the early 1980s. It’s worth noting that this remarkable man chose to reside in a modest rented apartment in San Francisco, a testament to his unassuming nature.
In December 2016, Mr. Feeney made a remarkable $7 million donation to his alma mater, Cornell University, for community service initiatives. This move not only officially unveiled the Atlantic Philanthropies’ financial records but also fulfilled his extraordinary commitment to give away the bulk of his wealth during his lifetime—a rarity in the world of philanthropy.
While securing modest yet unpretentious provisions for his five adult children, Mr. Feeney disclosed that he retained approximately $2 million for himself, a fraction of the billions he had amassed over six decades in business. He disbursed over 35 years, consistently taking extraordinary measures to obscure his identity, wealth, and charitable contributions.
“Chuck Feeney is a remarkable role model and the ultimate example of giving while living,” remarked fellow billionaire Bill Gates in a 2012 interview with Forbes. Another of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Warren Buffett, presented a Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr. Feeney in 2014, referring to him as “my hero and Bill Gates’ hero—he should be everyone’s hero.”
In stark contrast to donors whose names are prominently displayed, celebrated at banquets, and emblazoned on building facades and museum wings, Mr. Feeney clandestinely supported universities, medical institutions, scientific ventures, human rights organizations, peace initiatives, and a multitude of causes aimed at improving lives in the United States, Vietnam, South Africa, Australia, Israel, Jordan, and other lands.
As an Irish American, he was notably more open about his contributions in Northern Ireland, a place he frequented. His assistance to Sinn Féin, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, and the Ulster Defence Association, a Protestant loyalist paramilitary group, played a pivotal role in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, ending years of sectarian violence. In 2007, Mr. Feeney was invited to join the leaders of the United States, England, and Ireland at the inauguration of a power-sharing government in Belfast.
However, his name did not appear on any of the 1,000 structures on five continents that he donated $2.7 billion to support. Grants to organizations and individuals were disbursed through cashier’s checks to conceal the source. Recipients were informed that the funds came from a generous “benefactor” who wished to remain anonymous. Those privy to his identity were bound by strict confidentiality agreements.
His charitable foundations were domiciled in Bermuda to circumvent U.S. disclosure requirements, even though this arrangement precluded U.S. tax deductions for his contributions.
Two men in somber suits seated at a picturesque waterfront location, with a sprawling artificial bridge rising behind them.
Mr. Feeney on the San Francisco waterfront in 2014, alongside Christopher G. Oechsli, the CEO of Mr. Feeney’s consortium of foundations, known as Atlantic Philanthropies.
Mr. Feeney’s life was marked by remarkable contrasts. Raised in New Jersey by working-class Roman Catholic parents who struggled during the Great Depression, he served in the Air Force, studied hotel management in college, and ventured into the duty-free shopping industry by selling alcohol, cigarettes, and perfumes to American servicemen stationed in Europe during the 1950s.
The business expanded globally, and profits were staggering. By the early 1980s, he was channeling tax-free annual returns of $35 million into hotels, real estate ventures, retail stores, and clothing companies. He later invested in tech startups, significantly augmenting his income. By the age of 50, he possessed opulent residences in New York, London, Paris, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Aspen, Colorado, in addition to a villa on the French Riviera.
Nevertheless, he became disenchanted with a life of extravagant soirees, grand yachts, and values far removed from those of his friends and family in New Jersey. As Conor O’Clery noted in his biography of Mr. Feeney, “The Billionaire Who Wasn’t” (2007), “He was beginning to feel a little guilty about his right to have so much money.” When asked years later if he considered himself rich, he responded, “How much is rich? Beyond all expectations. Beyond all deserving, so to speak. I simply reached the conclusion with myself that money, buying yachts, and all the trappings didn’t appeal to me.”
Mr. Feeney reversed his lavish lifestyle, eschewing extravagant soirées, opting for economy-class air travel, purchasing clothing off the rack, and forsaking upscale dining establishments. He sold his limousines and relied on public transportation or taxis. He also embarked on a mission to donate his wealth anonymously, a path only 1% of American donors choose to follow, according to experts.
“All of Feeney’s instincts, instilled in him by the example of his parents, by the sharing culture of his humble upbringing in New Jersey, by his desire not to sever any connection with his childhood neighbors and friends, and by his innate generosity and concern for others, undoubtedly shaped his decision,” wrote Mr. O’Clery.
In 1982, Mr. Feeney established in Bermuda the foundation that would evolve into Atlantic Philanthropies. In 1984, he transferred to the foundation his 38.75 percent stake in the company he had co-founded, Duty Free Shoppers. Since there was no sale, the company’s value was speculative, but some estimates suggested it might have exceeded $500 million.
Over the ensuing decades, as his other ventures and profits were also funneled into the foundation, Mr. Feeney supported public health facilities in Vietnam, the University of Limerick and Trinity College in Ireland, AIDS clinics in South Africa, Operation Smile’s free surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates, a medical campus for the University of California at San Francisco, and earthquake relief in Haiti. He contributed $1 billion to Cornell, including $.
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