Joyce Young

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Joyce Young is a Canadian woman famous for a single act of philanthropy and for being the aunt of Red Hat founder Bob Young.

Young and her husband Bill Young, both residents of Ancaster, Ontario,^[1] opted to help their nephew Bob with his high-tech venture shortly after its founding. When Red Hat's stock rose significantly after its initial public offering in 1999, they were able to sell enough stock to recoup their initial investment, but chose to retain some stocks.

By January 2000, the remaining stock was valued in the millions. This enabled her to make, in June 2000, a donation of $40 million dollars to the Hamilton Community Foundation to be used largely in improvement of Hamilton-area health facilities, an act that represented one of the single largest charitable donations in Canadian history. A long-time volunteer with local community groups, she later claimed her biggest concern was in giving away the money responsibly.

[edit] Quotes

"While I respect Bob as a businessman, I quite honestly never thought I'd see my money again. I really just wanted to support him. After holding the company's stock for three years, I took out my original investment, and left some money in just for fun."