🤩Charles Chuck Feeney, known as the U.S. Donation King,Charles Chuck Feeney, known as the U.S. Donation King,

Charles Chuck Feeney, known as the U.S. Donation King, was born in 1931 to a poor Irish immigrant family in New Jersey.

My mother was a nurse and my father was an insurer.

Mother Madeleine Finney helped others like a quiet Samaritan, working as a nurse and regularly helping neighbors with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

My mother’s philanthropy greatly influenced Finney’s life philosophy.

As a child, Finney earned pocket money by selling Christmas cards and clearing snow.

During the Korean War, he was stationed in Japan and worked as a communications soldier, and majored in hotel management at Cornell University as a method of applying for discharged soldiers.

In 1960, he started the DFS Group with his university classmate, creating the concept of duty-free shop business for the first time.

It was a huge success.

But as the money piled up, he felt uncomfortable with his luxurious life.

I am particularly shocked to read Andrew Carnegie’s essay “The Gospel of Wealth” in the late 1970s.

Carnegie advised in an essay, “Those who die rich die infamously. Accumulate as much wealth as possible and then give it all away.”

Eventually, Finney secretly transferred his entire 38.7% stake in DFS to a charitable foundation he created in 1984.

At that time, the value reached about 500 million dollars (720 billion won).

Finney insisted on being completely anonymous when making donations.

Even beneficiary institutions often did not know who donated.

He kept this secret for over 15 years.

What Finney emphasized was a lifetime donation.

“It’s because if you donate while you’re alive, you can see the impact firsthand and donate smarter.”

During his lifetime, he quietly donated billions of dollars around the world, including Cornell University, universities in Ireland, hospitals in Vietnam, and research institutes in Australia.

Warren Buffett Said This After Meeting Finney.

“He’s my hero and Bill Gates’ hero, too. He has to be everyone’s hero.”

Bill Gates also said this.

“Chuck’s dedication to his lifetime donation has been a guide to Melinda and me.”

Under the influence of Finney, Giving Pledge was launched in 2010 and 234 billionaires pledged to donate more than half of their wealth.

He kept an extremely frugal life during his lifetime.

On business trips, he rode economy seats, did not own a house or car, and wore a $10 (W14,000) Casio watch.

I carried documents in plastic bags and used public transportation.

He lived in a rented apartment in San Francisco in 2016, leaving him with only about $2 million (W2.8 billion).

On September 14, 2020, Finney, 89, officially closed his foundation.

It’s because I spent all the money I was aiming for.

His donations over 38 years totaled $8 billion (11.5 trillion won).

In October 2023, Finney died at the age of 92.

Before he left the world, he said this.

“I am very happy because I have achieved my goal.”

His life remained a living lesson of what true wealth means and what traces we should leave in this world.