Glad to see this is true and actually the more recent number is $8bn and the philanthropy recently completed the goal of giving away all his money by 2020.
In 1982, Feeney created The Atlantic Philanthropies, and in 1984, secretly transferred his entire 38.75% stake in DFS, then worth about $500 million, to the foundation. Not even his business partners knew that he no longer personally owned any part of DFS. For years, Atlantic gave away money in secret, requiring recipients to not reveal the sources of their donations. "Beyond Mr. Feeney's reticence about blowing his own horn, 'it was also a way to leverage more donations––some other individual might contribute to get the naming rights.'" The largest single beneficiary of Feeney's giving is his alma mater Cornell University, which has received nearly $1 billion in direct and Atlantic gifts, including a donation of $350 million enabling the creation of Cornell's New York City Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island. Through Atlantic, he has also donated around one billion dollars to education in Ireland, mostly to third-level institutions such as the University of Limerick and Dublin City University. Feeney has given substantial personal donations to Sinn Féin, a left-wing Irish nationalist party that is historically associated with the IRA. He has also supported the modernization of public-health structures in Vietnam.
In February 2011, Feeney became a signatory to The Giving Pledge. In his letter to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the founders of The Giving Pledge, Feeney writes, "I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living—to personally devote oneself to meaningful efforts to improve the human condition. More importantly, today's needs are so great and varied that intelligent philanthropic support and positive interventions can have greater value and impact today than if they are delayed when the needs are greater." He gave away his last $7 million in late 2016, to the same recipient of his first charitable donations: Cornell. Over the course of his life, he has given away more than $8 billion. At its height, Atlantic had over 300 employees and 10 offices across the globe.
On September 14, 2020, Feeney closed down the Atlantic Philanthropies after the nonprofit accomplished its mission of giving away all of Feeney's money by 2020.
Chuck Feeney has been called the "James Bond of philanthropy", for his secrecy and success.
In 2014, Warren Buffett said of Feeney, “he’s my hero and Bill Gates’ hero. He should be everybody’s hero.”
According to a The New York Times article in 2017, "Until he was 75, he traveled only in coach, and carried reading materials in a plastic bag." He does not own a car or a house and wears a $10 Casio F-91W watch.
TurinTuram on December 21st, 2020 at 19:14 UTC »
He didn't donate his fortune... He invested it in humanity
ianhouser on December 21st, 2020 at 19:43 UTC »
Glad to see this is true and actually the more recent number is $8bn and the philanthropy recently completed the goal of giving away all his money by 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Feeney?wprov=sfla1
TooShiftyForYou on December 21st, 2020 at 20:14 UTC »
Chuck Feeney has been called the "James Bond of philanthropy", for his secrecy and success.
In 2014, Warren Buffett said of Feeney, “he’s my hero and Bill Gates’ hero. He should be everybody’s hero.”
According to a The New York Times article in 2017, "Until he was 75, he traveled only in coach, and carried reading materials in a plastic bag." He does not own a car or a house and wears a $10 Casio F-91W watch.