Chuck Feeney, the Billionaire Who Wasn’t, Pledges $177 Million to Universities to Fight Dementia

By Kerry A. Dolan

Chuck Feeney, the cofounder of Duty Free Shoppers, was dubbed “the James Bond of philanthropy” by Forbes in 2012. For years, his charitable entity The Atlantic Philanthropies anonymously gave away tens of millions around the globe. It’s been operating in daylight of late and is making a huge bet. On Monday, November 16 the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Trinity College Dublin announced that The Atlantic Philanthropies is awarding the two universities a multi-year grant of $177 million to focus on aging globally, with a specific target of stemming the rise of dementia.

“A healthy mind is invaluable. As advances in medicine and health help us to live longer, we must also support leadership in promoting and advancing brain health. There is no sense in waiting to do this when the challenges are evident today. We need to invest in the people and institutions working to improve knowledge and care for our families, communities and nations. With Atlantic’s support for UCSF and Trinity in leading this new initiative, we aim to do that.” – Chuck Feeney

The two universities will create a Global Brain Health Institute and will work over 15 years to train 600 global leaders with a variety of skill sets to get to focus on the issues of aging.

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