01/29/2022
Chuck Feeney is the most unusual billionaire in the world.
He is the founder of Duty Free. He is 88 years old, he has amassed a fortune of 7.5 billion dollars. At the same time, he does not have a car, flies economy class, lives in a rented apartment.
Chuck Feeney wears a $15 electronic watch and a wrinkled shirt. He prefers snack bars to restaurants, convenience stores to tailors, he uses the subway or a taxi.
You could call him a miser, shaking over every penny, if not for the fact that over the past 30 years he has given more than $ 6 billion to charity. This money was spent on education, healthcare, science, and the maintenance of nursing homes in the United States, Vietnam, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and Bermuda. He does not intend to stop and plans to give all the remaining money to good causes.
Moreover, this extravagant rich man is not interested not only in money, but also in fame: giving away his billions, he tried to stay in the shadows, and for the first 15 years he did it quite successfully, because no one guessed about his charitable activities. Then came the "exposure", although even after that Feeney behaved very modestly. For example, it is known that up to 2012 he gave no more than 5 interviews.
Chuck Feeney is an amazing man. Starting his business from the very bottom, he was able to put together a company of 200 employees in 27 countries in a few years. His income increased at a tremendous rate, although most of it immediately went to his charitable foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies. "I became convinced that you get much more pleasure when you give money and see how something appears thanks to them, for example, a hospital. It's logical to invest money in good deeds, and not put it in a bank account and let it accumulate and accumulate," says Feeney.
Bill Gates called Chuck an ideal role model, noting that he is the best example of how to do good in life.
