Charles Feeney, philanthropist who gave away his billions, dies at 92

Sometime in the early 1980s, Charles Feeney took stock of what he had.

He had luxury apartments in New York, London and Paris and posh getaways in Aspen and the French Riviera. He hobnobbed with the other mega-rich on yachts and private jets.

If he wanted it, he could afford it, after amassing a multibillion-dollar fortune as one of the first moguls in duty-free shopping.

Gradually, though, he grew uneasy with having so much for himself and began to consider the obligations that came with great wealth.

He decided to give nearly all of it away — close to $8 billion — donation by donation, charity by charity, year after year.

“It’s much more fun to give while you are alive than to give when you are dead,” said Mr. Feeney, who died Oct. 9 at 92 at his home in San Francisco. It was a modest two-bedroom apartment.

Mr. Feeney also reordered his own life beginning in the 1980s.

He sold his limousine and took public transportation and cabs. He flew economy class — often carrying his books and papers in plastic bags — and only upgraded in his later years because of chronic knee problems, he said.

When in New York, he avoided pricey restaurants.

He preferred the burgers at Tommy Makem’s Irish Pavilion on East 57th Street.

Charles Francis Feeney was born in Elizabeth, N.J., on April 23, 1931.

His father was an insurance underwriter, and his mother was a nurse.

He served in the Air Force from 1949 to 1952 in roles such as radio operator during the Korean War. He enrolled in Cornell in 1952 — the first in his family to go to college — with financial support from the GI Bill and graduated in 1956 with a degree in hotel administration.

His donations to Cornell included $350 million for a technology center on Roosevelt Island in New York.

His marriage to Danielle Morali-Daninos ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife, the former Helga Flaiz; five children from his first marriage; and 16 grandchildren.

The death was announced by Atlantic Philanthropies, but no cause was cited.

In recent years, he and his wife lived in a rented apartment in San Francisco.

Mr. Feeney appeared to find comforting logic in simplicity. “You can only wear one pair of pants at a time,” he said.

Ref: Charles Feeney, philanthropist who gave away his billions, dies at 92 (washingtonpost)