An Irish billionaire Chuck Feeney, is officially broke as he has given away $8 billion(N3tn) to charities, universities and organisations worldwide via his foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies.
According to reports by Forbes Magazine, Feeney,reached his billionaire status by co-founding airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers. The business man was popular for leading the way with lifestyle of giving. The report suggests he believed in the idea of ‘Giving While Living’. The idea encourages philanthropists to spend all their money during their own life-time to have better control over its use.
In an interview with Forbes, the business 89-year-old billionaire said that he was, in fact, very satisfied with his decision. Freeney under his foundation has been able to do some hands-on charity and did not have to rely on funding a foundation post-death.
The billionaire said that he learned a lot along his journey and the idea of why not give the wealth away had struck as very appealing to him and that he has always wanted to do it under his supervision before his death.
Feeney has been estimated to leave about $2 million (N767m) for his and his wife’s retirement and was said to have given all his money anonymously and made sure it stayed that way. Currently, he lives in an apartment in San Francisco.
