Chuck Feeney

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Charles F. Feeney (born April 23, 1931 in Elizabeth, N.J.)[1], an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist. He made his fortune as a co-founder with Robert Warren Miller of the Duty Free Shoppers Group.

Contents

[edit] Personal

Feeney, an Irish-American with dual citizenship[2], was born in New Jersey during the Great Depression. He served as a U.S. Air Force radio operator during the Korean War, and began his career selling duty-free liquor to Kennedy family members at Mediterranean ports in the 1950s.[3] He later attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.[1]

Feeney is the father of two daughters, Diane V. Feeney and Leslie D. Feeney Baily. (This information is incomplete. According to his biography he has 4 Daughters and 1 Son)

[edit] Career

Feeney was a co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group (DFS Group), which earned him his fortune.[4]

[edit] Philanthropy

[edit] Philosophy

"I had one idea that never changed in my mind — that you should use your wealth to help people. I try to live a normal life, the way I grew up," Feeney said. "I set out to work hard, not to get rich."[3]

[edit] Foundation

Feeney is the founder of Atlantic Philanthropies, and between 1982 and 2005 gave away $3.547 billion.[5]

[edit] Education

Feeney has been a major donor to his alma mater Cornell University. He has also donated $1 billion to schools in Ireland, notably the University of Limerick.[1]

[edit] Sinn Féin

A 2003 article in Irish America magazine noted that Feeney's personal donations to Sinn Féin amounted to over a quarter million dollars, making him the organization's largest American donor at the time. The donations were personal ones and were made outside of his foundations.

[edit] Books and Articles

Feeney first went public about his philanthropy in 1997, in an article published by The New York Times;[2] at the time, he decided to end his anonymity when it became apparent that a dispute with Robert Miller, his former DFS partner, over the sale of DFS Group was likely to lead to a lawsuit that would reveal his donations anyway.[2]

Feeney also cooperated in the publication of a biography about him, The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing (ISBN 1586483919).

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Jim Dwyer, New York Times, Out of Sight, Till Now, and Giving Away Billions, September 26, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c He Gave Away $600 Million, and No One Knew, a January 23, 1997 article by Judith Miller from The New York Times
  3. ^ a b Book details billionaire's secret philanthropy, a September 19, 2007 Reuters story via MSNBC.com
  4. ^ "Reclusive Philanthropist Steps into Spotlight" from the NPR website
  5. ^ Historical Grant Statistics from the Atlantic Philanthropies website

[edit] External links