The Billionaire Who Wasn’t

How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune

Contributors

By Conor O’Clery

Formats and Prices

Price

$14.99

Price

$19.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $22.99 $29.99 CAD

The astonishing life of the modest New Jersey businessman who anonymously gave away 10 billion dollars and inspired the “giving while living” movement. In this bestselling book, Conor O’Clery reveals the inspiring life story of Chuck Feeney, known as the “James Bond of philanthropy.” Feeney was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression. After service in the Korean War, he made a fortune as founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world’s largest duty-free retail chain. By 1988, he was hailed by Forbes Magazine as the twenty-fourth richest American alive. But secretly Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies. Only in 1997 when he sold his duty free interests, was he “outed” as one of the greatest and most mysterious American philanthropists in modern times, who had anonymously funded hospitals and universities from San Francisco to Limerick to New York to Brisbane. His example convinced Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to give away their fortunes during their lifetime, known as the giving pledge.

On Sale
Aug 27, 2013
Page Count
432 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781610393355

Conor O’Clery

About the Author

Conor O’Clery is an award-winning journalist and author who served as foreign correspondent for the Irish Times in London, Moscow, Beijing, Washington, and New York. He has written books on Russian, Irish, and American politics. He now lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Learn more about this author