89-year-old Philanthropist Gives Away $8 Billion Fortune Before Dying

89-year-old Philanthropist Gives Away $8 Billion Fortune so He Can Die Broke

An 89-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur has give away his $8 billion as this is his final achievement before he dies.

Charles “Chuck” Feeney, 89, co-founder of airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers, has distributed value to various charities over the last 38 years. He completed his generous mission on September 14 through his organization, The Atlantic Philanthropies.

89-year-old Philanthropist
Image Source: The Irish Times

According to the report of Inquirer, Feeney started the foundation in 1982 to help him share more than half of his wealth. Now that he has succeeded in providing it, he has officially closed the organization after nearly four decades of operation.

Nearly $ 3.7 billion of his fortune went to education, including a $ 1 billion to his alma mater, Cornell University. Meanwhile, he donated $870 million to human rights and social reform efforts such as Obamacare and grants to eliminate the death penalty in the United States.

More than $ 700 million also went to medicine and research such as the Global Brain Health Institute in California and public health care in Vietnam, according to each report. Although he donated billions of dollars, he saved nearly $ 2 million for his wife’s retirement.

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Feeney said he learned a lot from running his foundation and donating to various causes. He said he is very satisfied and feel good about completing it on his watch.

“We would do some things differently, but I am very satisfied. I feel very good about completing this on my watch,” he said.

Along with his foundation, Feeney also spearheaded the “Giving While Living” entrepreneurial approach to charity. It requires giving a portion of one’s fortune to charities before death so that the donor can decide where the money will be spent.

“I see little reason to delay giving when so much good can be achieved through supporting worthwhile causes,” he said in a 2019 report. “Besides, it’s a lot more fun to give while you live than give while you’re dead,” the wealthy philanthropist said.

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