‘James Bond of Philanthropy’ Gives Away the Last of His Fortune
Resource type: News
The New York Times | [ View Original Source (opens in new window) ]
By Jim Dwyer
As it happens, Donald J. Trump is not the only person to announce plans to shut down a personal philanthropy, just the best known.
This is the story of a man who made and kept that same promise.
Nearly five years ago, Charles F. Feeney sat in a cushy armchair in an apartment on the east side of Manhattan, grandchildren’s artwork taped to the walls, and said that by the end of 2016, he was going to hand out the last of a great fortune that he had made.
It was a race: Mr. Feeney was then 81, and Atlantic Philanthropies, a collection of private foundations he had started and funded, still had about $1.5 billion left. Flinging money out the window or writing checks willy-nilly was not Mr. Feeney’s way.