Billionaire died penniless after giving all of his fortune away

Chuck Feeney, the billionaire entrepreneur who quietly gave away his entire fortune during his lifetime, died in October 2023 at the age of 92. In the end, the man who once had billions to his name passed away in a modest rented apartment in San Francisco with little left, just as he had planned.

Feeney, co-founder of the global luxury retail giant Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), spent the second half of his life doing something almost unheard of among the ultra-wealthy: giving it all away. Quietly, methodically, and with deep intention, he channelled his fortune into causes that spanned the globe, earning him a nickname that followed him to the end: the James Bond of philanthropy.

His death was confirmed by Atlantic Philanthropies, the charitable foundation he created to disburse his wealth.

In a statement, the foundation offered a tribute as understated and powerful as the man himself: "Chuck Feeney gave everything, and asked for nothing in return."

Born in 1931 to a working-class Irish-American family in New Jersey, Feeney's early years were shaped by the values of humility, thrift, and hard work.

After serving in the US Air Force during the Korean War, he enrolled at Cornell University, an institution that would later receive hundreds of millions in donations from its quietly generous alumnus.

In 1960, Feeney co-founded Duty Free Shoppers with business partner Robert Miller, capitalising on the emerging market of international jet-setters and turning airport retail into a multibillion-dollar business.

But as his fortune grew, his appetite for personal luxury did not. Feeney flew coach. He wore a $15 watch. He carried plastic bags instead of designer luggage.

Friends and business associates described him as intensely private, almost allergic to the spotlight.

But his frugality wasn't performative, it was principle.

In 1984, he secretly transferred his $500 million stake in DFS to Atlantic Philanthropies, effectively severing himself from his wealth.

Over the next four decades, the foundation gave away over $8 billion, anonymously, for many years, funding efforts in public health, education, human rights, and peacebuilding across more than a dozen countries.

His legacy is scattered across continents, etched into hospitals, universities, and policy reforms.

In Vietnam, his funding helped overhaul the national healthcare infrastructure. In South Africa, it strengthened efforts to combat AIDS. In Ireland, his donations transformed higher education, including major investments in the University of Limerick.

In the US, he gave generously to institutions like UCSF and Cornell, supported healthcare for uninsured children, and backed campaigns to abolish the death penalty.

In 2011, Feeney joined The Giving Pledge, the global campaign spearheaded by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, publicly affirming what he had long been practicing, that the vast majority of his wealth would be given away in his lifetime.