A millionaire donated his entire fortune to charity after 38 years of secret philanthropy
In 1982 he founded a philanthropic organization with a news blackout to all media, and now, almost 40 years later, this 89-year-old man has succeeded in his ultimate goal: he has donated his entire fortune built in the past decades to activities and organizations for charity, without any of the recipients knowing his identity. His name is Chuck Feeley and, despite being among the richest millionaires in America, he has never flaunted his fortune and has always preferred to live a frugal life.
via The Guardian
The Atlantic Philantropist/YouTube
Born in New Jersey to a family of Irish descent, Chuck Feeley made his fortune in duty-free shopping, founding the Duty-Free Shoppers Group in 1982, the cornerstone of his many anonymous cash donations to organizations dedicated to charity. He remained anonymous until 1997, when he then revealed his identity when he decided to sell shares in his company.
Of his geberous secret activities, Chuck Feeley said, "Wealth brings responsibility. People must look beyond themselves and feel responsible for using some of their resources to improve the lives of their fellow men, or they will create unmanageable problems for future generations."
The Atlantic Philantropist/YouTube
In all these years, Feeley has donated $3.7 billion to educational institutions, including $1 billion to Cornell University where he studied in his youth; another $870 million went to human rights organizations, and finally $1.9 billion to fund various projects in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where he even helped to found the prestigious University of Limerick.
And who said that having a fortune means being greedy at all costs? Our compliments to Mr. Feeley!
