The 'James Bond' of philanthropy

[UnkNuk]

Had I been a been a billionaire I like to think I'd have done something similar.  But I'm not sure if I would have.  And I'm pretty sure I would have put aside 100-200 million for myself rather than 2 million, just in case.  So I was pretty impressed when I read this cool story.

 

Full story at:

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2020/09/15/exclusive-the-billionaire-who-wanted-to-die-brokeis-now-officially-broke/#73008b5c3a2a

 

 

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Charles “Chuck” Feeney, 89, who cofounded airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers with Robert Miller in 1960, amassed billions while living a life of monklike frugality. As a philanthropist, he pioneered the idea of Giving While Living—spending most of your fortune on big, hands-on charity bets instead of funding a foundation upon death. Since you can't take it with you—why not give it all away, have control of where it goes and see the results with your own eyes? 

 

“We learned a lot. We would do some things differently, but I am very satisfied. I feel very good about completing this on my watch,” Feeney tells Forbes. “My thanks to all who joined us on this journey. And to those wondering about Giving While Living: Try it, you'll like it.”

 

Over the last four decades, Feeney has donated more than $8 billion to charities, universities and foundations worldwide through his foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies. When I first met him in 2012, he estimated he had set aside about $2 million for his and his wife's retirement. In other words, he's given away 375,000% more money than his current net worth. And he gave it away anonymously. While many wealthy philanthropists enlist an army of publicists to trumpet their donations, Feeney went to great lengths to keep his gifts secret. Because of his clandestine, globe-trotting philanthropy campaign, Forbes called him the  James Bond of Philanthropy.

[Phil_314]

Such a click-bait title. 

First of all, to demean a guy who chose to give almost all his wealth away by saying that he's gone broke is to say that he didn't have the financial foresight to prepare ahead for himself and his spouse.  That's clearly not the case as $2 million dollars between him and his wife at age 90 isn't "broke", when they already have an apartment in SF. 

Also, if guys like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates look up to you, I highly doubt they'd let him get to being broke-broke (if he got to that place), and it seems like the writer couldn't let him have a good moment for his philanthropy, but instead they say he's going broke when he probably has a fuller heart than most of us have "full" wallets.
 

[Monty]

55 minutes ago, Phil_314 said:

Such a click-bait title. 

First of all, to demean a guy who chose to give almost all his wealth away by saying that he's gone broke is to say that he didn't have the financial foresight to prepare ahead for himself and his spouse.  That's clearly not the case as $2 million dollars between him and his wife at age 90 isn't "broke", when they already have an apartment in SF. 

Also, if guys like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates look up to you, I highly doubt they'd let him get to being broke-broke (if he got to that place), and it seems like the writer couldn't let him have a good moment for his philanthropy, but instead they say he's going broke when he probably has a fuller heart than most of us have "full" wallets.
 

Agreed.

 

Further, the amount that people, like him, receive in a tax refund isn't insignificant. Combined, my wife and I donate a shade over $16k per year, and the refund we receive is substantial. That's certainly not the reason to donate, but there are tax benefits in doing so.

Edited September 17, 2020 by Monty

[NewbieCanuckFan]