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The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing

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I saw this book reviewed in The Economist and could scarcely believe what I was reading. I recommend this as a great read, a great book club or church group read, and a good book to give out to the board of directors of any organization, whether for profit or not! Here is a unique insight into the upbringing, growth and mindset of one of the most well grounded individuals of the modern era. If you are interested in how to make the world a better place, drop what you are doing and read this book!

Next time you get a letter from a charity, think of Chuck Feeney who gave >$1 Billion away in his lifetime. And all without fanfare, without his name on buildings and streets. I found it interesting how he selected his gifts (a lot to education), and to the locations (USA of course, Ireland, Vietnam, etc.) And he managed to leverage his money by getting the government to match many of his contributions.

The book is perhaps a bit heavy on details of how he made his money (Duty Free stores), and the various schemes to tax shelter his money, and the steps to remain anonymous. He believed that one should give money directly to causes that would make a difference, and monitor the progress to see that the money was being wisely used. He distrusted Government spending which often has graft and inefficiency, and political conditions.

In short, an inspiring book well worth reading, and acting on if your finances allow.

The story of Chuck Feeney is long overdue. Bright, modest, humble, he lives the Gospels without preaching them. By giving away his fortune he enlarged himself, which is the inherent nature of selfless living. Whenever we give away something in the pursuit to help others we are both benefactor and beneficiary. We grow in the process. Nothing is depleted.

At least that is the lesson that was reinforced for me in this fine book by Conor O'Clery about a philanthropist who leads quietly and by example. We should all follow.The Gospel of Father Joe: Revolutions and Revelations in the Slums of Bangkok

This book is a biography of Charles Francis (Chuck) Feeney, one of the world's billionaires in the twentieth century. Its 337 pages are a quick read, a fascinating story about a self-made American who gave away most of his fortune to various charitable endeavors. It would make a great case study for a business school, and I would guess that many professors will immediately adopt it as a classroom assignment.

Chuck Feeney's early education was at Catholic elementary and high schools in New Jersey and New York. After high school in 1948, Feeney enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan for four years. After discharge, he attended Cornell University's famous School of Hotel Administration. He financed his college education partly from the G. I. Bill and partly from selling sandwiches to students. After graduation he went off to explore Europe, briefly attending a French university. While there he started a shoestring business selling liquor to sailors on American warships. He and a Cornellian partner, Robert Miller, took orders and accepted payment, then arranged to have the liquor delivered, duty-free. They bout out an unsuccessful competitor, thereby obtaining the name: Duty Free Shoppers (DFS). By 1965 business was good, but there were problems with part of the business strategy. American law changed so the duty free allowance was reduced from five bottle per family member to one bottle per family, effectively ending the rationale for the liquor business. Also, the automobile business turned out to be more complicated and less profitable than predicted. Fortunately, the duty free retail stores opened in Hawaii and Hong Kong selling liquor and luxury goods to Japanese tourists was booming. By 1977, Feeney, Miller and their two other partners were wealthy. Feeney created a foundation in 1982 to give away most of his wealth, conservatively estimated at 500 million dollars. This philanthropy was kept secret until 1996, when the foundation sold its share of DFS for $1.6275 billion cash to the French luxury goods company. LMVH. The foundation, now Atlantic Philanthropies, was giving money all over the world: Ireland, Australia, Vietnam, and Cuba, among others.

While the author's tale is a fascinating history of the DFS's path to great wealth, and of Feeney's many charitable endeavors, the biography provides little insight to many aspects of Feeney's early life. His life to 1956 is covered in a scant ten pages. He had twelve years of Catholic school education, two years at the prestigious Regis High School in New York City. What influence did the Catholic religion and education have on his life? His philanthropy is attributed more to reading Andrew Carnegie than any Catholic influence. What experiences did he have in the Air Force, when he spent four years in Japan? What were his studies at the Cornell hotel school? Was there any training or discussion of the major business issues that came up later? What about the ethical issue of tax avoidance? The secrecy with which DFS conducted is business is attributed to his Air Force experience with classified information. Were the practices of business secrecy a part of the college curriculum? DFS was found to have accounting, legal and tax problems in 1965. Did the college curriculum cover accounting and cost controls, or issues of international law? Feeney is a big fan of Cornell University, and has contributed generously to it. What influence did Cornell campus life have? No mention of his fraternity is made in the book.

Considering Feeney's later-life fame, I would guess that further disclosures will be made: this great man's life will attract further study, provided Mr. Feeney will cooperate with other biographers.

In 1988, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's most wealthy listed Charles F Feeney as the 23rd richest American alive, whose personal worth of $1.3 billion was greater than Rupert Murdoch or Donald Trump. In fact, four years earlier Feeney had secretly given away almost his entire fortune to a philanthropic trust. He had enough to live on for the rest of his life, but no longer even owned a house or a car. He was, as Irish journalist Conor O'Clery phrases it in this powerful biography, `the billionaire who wasn't'.

This is two books in one: the remarkable story of duty free retailing and its leading company, DFS, whose extraordinary growth and profits paralleled the rise of jet travel; and that of Feeney himself, a slightly shambolic businessman, linguist and traveller, who took the needs of the world on his shoulders and became a model philanthropist.

It is nicely written and pulls you in like a novel. As a business biography alone, O'Clery's book is valuable, showing that huge money can be made from very simple business models. DFS's success could be put down to `four men in a room' working out what they would bid for airport duty-free concessions, and winning them. Once established, profits came easily. Feeney insisted that luck played a big role in the company's fortunes, that they reaped the benefits of being the first trusted brand in a fast-growing new field. Yet the book is also peppered with Feeney's advice to other to always `think big' (in both business and philanthropy), and in his restless desire to build a great business even the other partners admitted that Feeney had been its driving force.

I liked this book so much I included it as one of the classics of philanthropy in my own book "50 Prosperity Classics: Attract It, Create It, Manage It, Share It - Wisdom from the best books on wealth building and abundance".
50 Prosperity Classics: Attract It, Create It, Manage It, Share It (50 Classics)

Where can I start? Initially, it was the title of this book that attracted me to it, reading the synopsis, I expected to hear the story of a generous billionaire who overcame the superfluous and false promises of wealth and just gave it all away. That's what I got out of this book and then some. "Then some" being the second half of the book where the author finally delves into the various stories of who, what, how, when, and why Chuck Feeney the billionaire gave his money away. For the last 150 pages or so, we hear the same tale over and over again: Chuck travels the world, meets random people, is sympathetic to their cause, surprises them with money from his foundation, they are grateful but don't know who to be grateful to since Chuck is obsessed with anonymity, Chuck is just a simple guy, etc, etc. Although the diversity of organizations Chuck gave to is great, the stories get a little repetitive and I felt as though the whole coming-out-of-anonymity part was a bit pretentious as if to give Chuck a pat on the back for being anonymous in the first place. Another problem I had with the book was the DETAILS and specifics, there were so many names, numbers, dates in the stories that I often found myself flipping back a few pages to remind myself of who was who and what the circumstances were.

That being said, I really enjoyed the first half of the book; I felt as though I were hearing from one of Chuck's friends growing up, learning about the personality traits and globe-trotting adventures he went through to build up his multi-national company. The business aspect of the story was also quite fascinating even until the very end of the book. How Chuck and friends managed to even, well, manage the global behemoth they created is something I couldn't even dream of doing as a single human being and the troubles they went through to keep it alive were intriguing with a little suspense thrown into the mix.

If the author shortened the book, cut out some of the stories, and didn't go into so many fine details, I think I'd give it 1/2 more star if I could.

An excellent business biography of a fascinating figure. Easily the best light reading on a business topic I have done in years.

This is the biography and arc of success of Chuck Feeney, a man with hustle who invented Duty Free shopping as it is known today. The interviews are thorough, the detail is helpful, and the subject matter is fascinating.

The prose and narrative style is fine, a clear journalist's telling and voice. Perhaps the only disappointment with the book is that the subject is so fascinating while the narrative style is fine, but simply not as excellent as the subject. I was so riveted a book double the size would still have held my fascination, this is that strange of a story.

Highly recommended.

What a beautiful person chuck Feeney is.

This is the most inspiring book I have read so far. This book was more motivating and inspirational to me than books such as the `Secret' by Rhonda Byrne. Here's a real `existing' role model we can all look up to. He did it, and so can we. He is a living proof that helping others in unselfish ways is possible. He is living proof that that there is good on Earth, and being good is not only possible but feasible.

This is the story of Chuck Feeney, born into a poor family. Not having enough funds to pay for his college education, Feeney joins the Air Force, and is stationed in Japan. There he realizes the profit making potential of duty-free sales. He starts selling duty-free goods to soldiers, such as tobacco and alcohol, and to make the story short, ends up owning duty-free shops across the world. Within a few years he becomes a billionaire. He is ranked as the 23rd richest man in the United States by Forbes magazine.

Feeney was not happy with his billions. He did not like the life of excess lived by the rich. `How many shoes do you need?' he would often ask. He did not like the competition between the rich in owning luxury goods. For example, a yacht is never big enough; someone else will have a bigger one. Someone else will have a bigger mansion.

Feeney was also worried for his children. Kidnapping was prevalent at the time, and Feeney did not want to live his life surrounded by bodyguards and in fear for his family. So one day, he secretly flies to the Bahamas and donates all his profits to his newly established charity organization.

Many find it hard to part from a few dollars. Feeney parted with billions. All the proceeds from Feeney's company went straight to his charity foundation. Unlike Bill Gates (whom I also admire for his philanthropy), Feeney gave away his whole fortune without announcing it. No one ever knew of Feeney's philanthropy, not even his partners. His name is not on any library, University, or building. Feeney gave secretly. He believed that your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing when it comes to charitable donations. Feeney is a man who gives not for selfish reasons such as recognition and fame, but to help make a change in people's lives.

Feeney did not feel guilty about making money, but he felt guilty keeping it. He felt his money should not be for the sole purpose of giving him and his family pleasure, but for giving pleasure to the world.

Feeney also helped solve the IRA (Irish Republican Army) problem together with Bill Clinton, and opposed the war in Iraq. He did not vote for Bush in 2004, and marched against the war of Iraq in the streets of London in 2004. He also felt that the US was unfair to Vietnam, and flew several times to Vietnam offering anonymous help.

Chuck Feeney is a great man, and his story should be an inspiration to all of us. This book should be read by everyone, and should be required reading in schools and universities. If one man can make such a difference, how much can we all do together? For one thing, we would end world hunger and poverty!

This book made me realize that ending world poverty is not such a farfetched dream: all it takes is a humble heart, like the one Chuck Feeney has!

Money can be the root of all evil. Money does corrupt, and in excess corrupts absolutely. But money can also end all of the world's suffering. It is a two edged sword. One edge will bleed the world to death; the other edge will bring an end to suffering.

I have chosen how I want to hold my sword. Have you?

A lot of other reviews will give you a lot more detail on the contents of the book but I simply want to share the primary point I picked up i.e. we can all be a little more than we than we expect and we alone determine how much of ourselves we then give back to others.

When we give back it should be on our own terms and founded on our own personal motivations and objectives. It is great that you have the highly public efforts of people like Gates and Clinton but the real difference makers are the people that give behind the scenes whether $5 or $1bn.

A worthy read

Chuck Feeney is my hero. What an example is this man for making a billion dollar career, while having lots of fun, and then spending it (giving it away) in a controlled and very constructive manner! A must read for anyone who wants to make a lot of money. Feeney had a cause, and became a billionaire in the process.