Charles Feeney, Who Made a Fortune and Then Gave It Away, Dies at 92

Mr. Feeney reversed his extravagant lifestyle, quitting wealthy social groups, flying economy class, buying his clothing off the rack and giving up fancy restaurants. He sold his limousines and took subways or cabs. He also resolved to give his money away anonymously, a course followed by only 1 percent of American givers, experts say.

“All Feeney’s instincts, instilled in him by the example of his parents, by the sharing culture of his blue-collar upbringing in New Jersey, by his desire not to distance himself from his boyhood neighbors and friends, and by his own innate kindness and concern for others, undoubtedly shaped his decision,” Mr. O’Clery wrote.

It was in 1982 that Mr. Feeney established in Bermuda the foundation that would become 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 said it may have exceeded $500 million.

Over the ensuing decades, as his other enterprises and profits also went to the foundation, Mr. Feeney funded 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 gave $1 billion to Cornell, including $350 million for an affiliated technology institute in New York City.

His secret identity as a humanitarian benefactor was disclosed in 1997 after he and a partner sold their interest in Duty Free Shoppers to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. Legal filings put the value of his share at $1.6 billion and said it belonged not to Mr. Feeney but to his philanthropic entity in Bermuda, which had been making huge anonymous donations for 15 years.