Chuck Feeney, a retail entrepreneur and investor who amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune and then gave it all away, has died at the age of 92.
His death was announced by the Atlantic Philanthropies, a group of foundations he had started and funded since the early 1980s.
Who was Chuck Feeney?
Charles Francis Feeney was an American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of the Hong Kong based Duty Free Shoppers Group.
He was the founder of the Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world.
Feeney gave away his fortune in secret for many years, until a business dispute resulted in his identity being revealed in 1997. Feeney gave away more than $8 billion in his lifetime.
Chuck Feeney Biography
Chuck Feeney was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on 23 April 1931, during the Great Depression to modest blue collar Irish-American parents.
His mother was a hospital nurse, and his father was an insurance underwriter. His ancestry can be traced to County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.
Feeney graduated from Elizabeth’s St. Mary of the Assumption High School in 1949; he has credited his charitable spirit to his education at St. Mary.
His 2016 donation of $250,000 was the largest in the school’s history from a single contributor.
He served as a U.S. Air Force radio operator during the Korean War, and began his career selling duty-free liquor to U.S. naval personnel at Mediterranean ports in the 1950s.
Feeney graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 1956. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, and an honorary member of the Sphinx Head Society.
Chuck Feeney Wife
Chuck was married twice. His first wife, Danielle, is French Algerian. At the time they first met, she was a student at Sorbonne.
They married in Paris in October 1959 and divorced Danielle between 1990 and 1991. His second wife, Helga Feeney, whom he married in 1995, was his former secretary.
Chuck Feeney Children
Chuck had four daughters: Caroleen A. Feeney, Diane V. Feeney, Juliette M. Feeney-Timsit, Leslie D. Feeney-Baily; and one son, Patrick A. Feeney.
Chuck Feeney Parents
Feeney was born to Leo Feeney and Madaline Feeney. His mother was a hospital nurse, and his father was an insurance underwriter.
Chuck Feeney Siblings
Shani Louk was not an only child to her parents. She reportedly has two siblings, Ursula Healy and Arlene Fitzpatrick
Chuck Feeney Family
Mother: Madaline Feeney
Father: Leo Feeney
Siblings: Ursula Healy and Arlene Fitzpatrick
Spouse: Helga Feeney
Children: Caroleen A. Feeney, Diane V. Feeney, Juliette M. Feeney-Timsit, Leslie D. Feeney-Baily; and Patrick A. Feeney.
Chuck Feeney Net Worth
His net worth was $0 at the time of his death, as revealed by Celebrity net worth.
At his peak, Chuck Feeney’s net worth was over $8 billion. For decades he secretly gave away vast chunks of his fortune.
Chuck Feeney Cause of death
Chuck Feeney died on October 9, 2023, at the age of 92, with his company Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation he launched in 1982, announcing his passing.
No medical cause for Feeney’s death has been given.
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