Chuck Feeney made billions selling luxury items to customers, but kept very little for himself, instead a $10 wristwatch and a modest rented apartment.
The billionaire businessman turned philanthropist lived a humble lifestyle after deciding to give away nearly all of his $8 billion.
Feeney died on Monday at the age of 92with his company Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation he launched in 1982, announcing his demise.
with his company Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation he launched in 1982, announcing his demise.
The foundation was liquidated in 2020 when Feeney donated all of his final funds to charity – totaling more than $8 billion.
Before that, Feeney had already adopted the typical lifestyle of a billionaire and moved away from the rich social groups he was associated with earlier in his life.
The billionaire is said to have stopped flying economy class, started buying clothes off the rack and stopped eating at fancy restaurants.
Chuck Feeney, pictured in 2007, lived a humble lifestyle after deciding to give away nearly all of his $8 billion fortune
Feeney (pictured with his second wife and longtime assistant, Helga Flaiz) died on Monday at the age of 92
Feeney lived with his wife in this modest apartment in San Francisco, previously described as similar to a college dorm room
He sold his limousines and started traveling by subway or taxis.
According to the New York TimesIn his later years, Feeney wore a $10 wristwatch and lived with his wife in a two-bedroom rental apartment in San Francisco.
Forbes also described his apartment as similar to that of a college dorm room.
Author Conor O’Clery, in a biography of Feeney entitled ‘The Billionaire Who Wasn’t’, said: ‘When asked many years later if he was rich at this stage in his life, he replied: ‘How much is rich?
‘Beyond all expectations. Above all meritorious, so to speak. I have just come to the conclusion that money, buying boats and all the trimmings are not for me.’
He told Forbes that after the move he put away $2 million for his and his wife’s retirement.
He told the outlet at the time: ‘We learned a lot. We would do some things differently, but I am very satisfied. I feel really good about completing it on my watch.
‘My thanks to everyone who has joined us on this journey. And for those wondering about Giving While Living: Try it, you’ll love it.’
A graduate of the Ivy League Cornell University, Feeney made his fortune when he founded Duty Free Shoppers, a chain of airport stores, with a colleague, Robert Miller.
He sold the company to LVMH in 1996. In retirement, Feeney adopted the ‘Giving While Living’ lifestyle and dedicated his life to contributing to causes in which he believed.
In the biography by O’Clery, Feeney said: ‘It is much nicer to give while you are alive than to give when you are dead.’
Atlantic Philanthropies has operated for nearly 30 years and donated $8 billion to various causes around the world.
In Ireland, where Feeney’s ancestors came from, he gave to universities and hospitals.
Feeney raised billions creating Duty Free Shoppers with Robert Miller in 1960
Feeney previously said he kept $2 million for him and his wife Helga, seen here, to live on during their retirement
Feeney was part of Bill and Melinda Gates’ Giving Pledge. The Microsoft founder (pictured together) described him as a ‘remarkable role model’
He also gave generously to Vietnam for infrastructure, and to human rights groups in Israel and Jordan, while also paying for research into diseases, including cancer, in every continent.
During his philanthropic career, Feeney tried to remain anonymous and so recipients were largely paid in cashier’s checks.
His foundation is incorporated in Bermuda, so he does not have to disclose donations for US tax requirements.
In 1984, he transferred his 35 percent stake in Duty Free Shoppers to Atlantic Philanthropies. In 1997 he sold his position in LVMH.
He was on record as saying that he financially provided for his five children after his death and kept about $2 million from his business career.
The former billionaire married twice in his life, first to French citizen Danielle Morali-Daninos, with whom he had five children, and later to his longtime assistant Helga Flaiz.
Feeney’s children worked as maids, waiters and cashiers during their time in college, but shared $140 million of the money from his company Duty Free Shoppers.
In addition to his wife and children, he is also survived by his 16 grandchildren.
Feeney was born hard into a working-class Irish-American family in northern New Jersey during the Great Depression that struggled to pay their $32-a-month mortgage.
Feeney was born into a working-class Irish-American family in northern New Jersey during the Great Depression who struggled to pay their $32-a-month mortgage
During his philanthropic career, Feeney, here at left, tried to remain anonymous and so recipients were largely paid in cashier’s checks.
He joined the Air Force and was stationed in Japan before becoming the first member of his family to go to college when he was accepted into Cornell, where he studied hotel management.
After graduation, he moved to Barcelona, where he got the idea to sell goods, especially liquor, cigarettes and perfume, to Americans returning home.
Feeney made a fortune through Duty Free Shoppers, invested shrewdly in Silicon Valley, and at one point owned homes in New York, London, Paris, Aspen, Hawaii and along the French Riviera.
He was once the 24th richest person in America, according to Forbes.
A tribute to Feeney on the school’s website calls him Cornell’s “third founder” thanks to the massive financial contributions he’s made over the years, totaling $1 billion. Atlantic Philanthropies’ final donation was a $7 million gift to the school.
Since 2011, Feeney has been a member of Bill and Melinda Gates’ Giving Pledge, a group of billionaires who have pledged to give away most of their wealth before they die.
“I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one lives—to devote oneself personally to meaningful efforts to improve the human condition,” Feeney said at the time.
Talk to Forbes in 2012, Bill Gates called Feeney a “remarkable role model” and the “ultimate example of giving while living.”
Another philanthropic billionaire, Warren Buffet, called Feeney his ‘hero’, adding ‘he should be everybody’s hero.’
Feeney fulfilled his four-decade mission to give away his $8 billion fortune to charity. He set aside $2 million for his and his wife’s retirement
He was prominent in his donation to Northern Ireland, donating both to the IRA’s political wing, Sinn Fein, and to their enemies the Ulster Defense Association, a move that helped pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Feeney, whose ancestors hailed from Fermanagh, was among those present at the dawn of power-sharing government in Northern Ireland in 2007.
His donations to Ireland are thought to have been close to $2 billion.
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams called Feeney a ‘good friend’ and an ‘extraordinary person’ in a statement following the news of his death.
Meanwhile, one tribute in Australia referred to him as ‘Queensland’s Godsend’ thanks to his nearly $600 million in donations to the state.