‘Duty-Free King’ Charles Chuck Feeney Remembered After Passing
Donated Entire Fortune Since 1984... Revealed Through Stake Sale
The legend of philanthropy, the hero of American billionaires.
This is the epithet of Charles Francis Feeney (hereafter ‘Chuck Feeney’), the founder of DFS, the world's largest duty-free retailer, who passed away at the age of 92.
He was the founder of one of the world's largest private foundations, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and during his lifetime, he donated assets worth 10 trillion won across various sectors of society. The American media outlet Forbes stated, “No other wealthy person has donated their fortune so completely while still alive.” Warren Buffett and Bill Gates also expressed infinite respect, calling him “the spiritual leader of the philanthropic community.”
True to his promise to “donate everything during his lifetime,” he gave away all of the $8 billion he had accumulated. Especially, unlike others who made their donations public, he was a ‘reclusive donor’ who conducted his philanthropy in complete secrecy. The billionaire’s final moments were modest. The house where he lived with his wife in San Francisco was a small two-room rental apartment. Chuck Feeney took his last breath on the 9th (local time) in that small apartment in San Francisco.
Although several days have passed since his death, major American media outlets continue to honor and commemorate his achievements.
Chuck Feeney demonstrated exceptional business acumen early on with his unique money-making skills. He applied and was accepted to Cornell University, which established the world’s first hotel management program, and sold sandwiches he made himself to students. While enrolled in a tuition-free political science master’s program at Grenoble University in France, he discovered the potential of the duty-free business by selling duty-free liquor to U.S. Marines during his hitchhiking travels, embarking on a full-fledged entrepreneurial path.
Chuck Feeney, who amassed immense wealth... decides to donate
Starting with winning the bid for the Honolulu Airport duty-free shop, he boldly expanded into Hong Kong, Guam, Saipan, and other locations, completing the modernization and globalization of duty-free shops.
Having amassed immense wealth by the age of 50, Feeney made a life-changing decision in 1984. He secretly transferred 38.75% of his stake in DFS to his foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies (established in 1982). The foundation’s purpose was to donate $8 billion (10.8 trillion won) to promote education, human rights, science, and healthcare worldwide.
Even his business partners were unaware of this. All donations were made anonymously. The foundation’s principle was to never reveal the donor’s identity to beneficiaries. Forbes nicknamed this anonymous philanthropist the ‘James Bond of charity.’ His identity was only revealed in 1997 when he sold his shares to LVMH. Feeney surprised everyone by stating that his remaining fortune was less than $2 million.
Even after that, Chuck Feeney continued his philanthropy vigorously, providing $220 million for construction and healthcare projects in Vietnam until 2006, and supporting biotechnology and nanotechnology research institutes in Australia.
Why did he continue to donate steadily? His philosophy of giving was simple. Feeney said during his lifetime, “I just felt I had more wealth than I needed, so I started donating.”
Chuck Feeney’s donation principles were mainly threefold. One was ‘never to have his name revealed under any circumstances,’ another was ‘to help those who deserve assistance,’ and the third, uniquely, was ‘to distribute quickly and effectively.’ He was known to personally verify that the anonymously donated money was properly used and that as many people as possible benefited.
The way his mother lived, quietly doing good deeds, also influenced him. His mother, a nurse, would deliberately make up appointments to care for neighbors suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. She believed the person receiving help should not feel burdened. She never publicized such acts of kindness.
Despite donating $2.7 billion... zero buildings named after him
Charles Chuck Feeney, the founder of DFS, the world's largest global duty-free retailer. [Photo by Cornell University website]
Chuck Feeney donated the most to higher education and research. Among the 1,000 buildings established with the $2.7 billion (3.6 trillion won) he supported, none bear his name. He donated over $600 million anonymously to his alma mater Cornell University and gave $65 million anonymously to two research projects at Stanford. After hearing about the widespread chronic kidney disease in Cuba, he donated $11 million focusing on medical education cooperation. Most of the funds in South Africa were also directed toward higher education.
In December 2016, Feeney officially emptied the foundation’s accounts by donating $7 million (9.4 billion won) to Cornell University, and the foundation closed in 2020.
Helping others naturally meant he left almost no inheritance to his children. To teach them that money does not guarantee happiness, he deliberately acted as a ‘frugal dad’ from their childhood. He made them work part-time during vacations and required them to pay their own home phone bills.
His relentless philanthropy inspired many other wealthy individuals. In early 2009, then 94-year-old business elder David Rockefeller secretly invited 12 of America’s richest billionaires to New York.
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Chuck Feeney were all invited. On that day, the world’s wealthiest people pledged by signing a commitment to donate a significant portion of their fortunes to charity during their lifetimes. However, Chuck Feeney could not sign the pledge because he had already donated nearly all his wealth.
Feeney influenced Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to start the ‘Giving Pledge’ campaign in 2010, encouraging the world’s wealthiest to donate half of their fortunes during their lifetimes.
Chuck Feeney, a billionaire who gave throughout his life, mentioned the joy of giving in his biography, saying, “Wealth should be used to help people.” He wrote, “You will like it if you try it. Moreover, giving while alive is much more enjoyable than giving after death.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
