Charles Feeney: Entrepreneur known for donating $8 billion fortune he amassed after founding famed airport retailer dies at 92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Charles Feeney, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is most notably known for donating the $8 billion fortune he amassed after founding the famed airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers, has breathed his last at the age of 92.
According to his foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies, Feeney “died peacefully” at his home in San Francisco on Monday, October 9.
Feeney, an advocate of “Giving While Living,” came to the limelight in 2020 when he finished giving away his massive fortune.
According to the foundation, while he was alive, the philanthropic organization “made grants totaling more than $8 billion, much of it anonymously, to causes on five continents.”
President of CEO of Atlantic issued a statement after Charles Feeney's death
“Chuck was as passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of others as he was about being successful at business,” said Christopher G Oechsli, President and CEO of Atlantic and long-time adviser to Mr Feeney, according to People.
“He cared more about being effective at what he did than about amassing wealth or collecting awards. In philanthropy, that meant being present and engaged in an unassuming manner with the people and their work who, with his support, could improve the lives of others in meaningful and lasting ways," he added.
When did Charles Feeney establish the Atlantic Foundation?
Feeney, born into an Irish-American family, took advantage of a GI scholarship and became the first in his family to attend college and graduate from Cornell University.
“After graduating, Feeney traveled extensively in Europe and eventually co-founded a duty-free business selling luxury goods to tourists,” the foundation wrote in a statement.
“The business, Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), became the world’s largest luxury goods retailer.” He then expanded into new ventures “in retail, hotels and resorts, and information technology, through the General Atlantic Group, most of which became hugely successful.”
Feeney and his family established the Atlantic Foundation in 1982 where he transferred all of his business assets two years later.
He made more than $8 billion in grants when the foundation closed in 2020, mainly in the United States, the Republic of Ireland, Britain, Northern Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Vietnam, Bermuda and Cuba.
According to the New York Times, the organization advocated for health, equity and human dignity. The charity was incorporated in Bermuda to avoid United States disclosure requirements, as per the outlet.
“Feeney and Atlantic have been Cornell’s largest donors, providing almost $1 billion in grants over more than 30 years that transformed the campus and benefited thousands of students,” the organization noted.
Bill Gates called Charles Feeney the 'ultimate example of Giving While Living'
Feeney became the 59th signatory of The Giving Pledge in 2011 which was started by Bill and Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet.
The Microsoft co-founder called him the “ultimate example of Giving While Living," as per his foundation.
“Chuck Feeney was an exceptional entrepreneur, citizen of the world and friend to people in need,” said Peter Smitham, former Board Chair of the Atlantic Philanthropies.
“In an unprecedented act of generosity, he secretly gave away nearly all of his wealth in the early 1980s to advance opportunities and better outcomes for those who are unfairly disadvantaged or vulnerable to life’s circumstances," Smithman added.
Born during the Great Depression to Irish-American parents, he “chose to live frugally" and was “well known for his signature $15 watch, plastic bags for a briefcase and his preference for flying economy,” according to his foundation.
He stayed in modest rented apartments and didn’t own a car or a home in the last three decades.
“Flying in the front of the plane doesn’t get you there any sooner,” he said, as per the charity. He is survived by his wife, Helga, five children, 16 grandchildren and four nieces and nephews.