First Anniversary of  a World’s Billionaire Who Died Poor

About a year ago, a billionaire died a broke-ass in a rented apartment. His wish.

But he died a happy man. At 92.

Twelve years before he died, Chuck Feeney, the co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, joined a bunch of billos on oath, the Giving Pledge. They vowed most of their wealth will return to the public, either before they die or at death. The club’s founding members are Bill Gates, his ex now Melinda French, and stock investor Warren Buffet. The group now boasts over 240 members.

Feeney took his own oath—to die poor—seriously. Why not?  And you wouldn’t say he lived as such in the lap of luxury — with his $15 wristwatch and addiction to flying economy. Creature comforts  meant nothing to him—except as a means of calling attention. And he hated attention.

Thirty years before he took the pledge, his wealth had been working secretly across the world, reaching as far afield as South Africa. He founded his Atlantic Philanthropies quietly, and moved his billions of dollars there in like manner. Between then and his death, $7.5 billion went into philanthropic causes, including education, human rights, medical research, and equality. South Africa got $117 million for HIV/AIDS relief in 2002; cancer research, $142,000. His donations for various educational projects across the US added up to $922 million over the years. 

In 2020, his foundation emptied its coffer. A total of 21 causes, largely dollar-guzzlers, concluded. By then, Feeney had clocked 89. Badly broke. People didn’t call him the James Bond of Philanthropy just for the heck of it. He lived like there would be no tomorrow.

His dying days in a San Francisco flat he rented eventually fulfilled his wish.