Reclusive billionaire doesn’t own a house or car, gives it all away
The guy who founded the Duty Free shops, Chuck Feeney, 76, wears a watch worth $15, flies coach, and doesn’t own a house or even a car. You might not have heard of him because he keeps a low profile and is pretty humble about not just his wealth but his extreme philanthropy.

Feeney is living a simple life not only so others can “simply live,” but so that he can make a huge difference in the world, all without taking much credit or wanting people to notice. He went to great lengths to keep his identity secret when he first started giving away his money, and...

Reclusive billionaire doesn’t own a house or car, gives it all away
The guy who founded the Duty Free shops, Chuck Feeney, 76, wears a watch worth $15, flies coach, and doesn’t own a house or even a car. You might not have heard of him because he keeps a low profile and is pretty humble about not just his wealth but his extreme philanthropy.

Feeney is living a simple life not only so others can “simply live,” but so that he can make a huge difference in the world, all without taking much credit or wanting people to notice. He went to great lengths to keep his identity secret when he first started giving away his money, and was only revealed as one of the world’s greatest philanthropists when it became inevitable. He has donated more than $4 billion through a charitable foundation he founded with shares of his own company to keep his name out of the press.

Feeney, an Irish-American with dual citizenship, earned his wealth through the old fashioned desire to work hard. He is giving it all away using the philosophy that he can’t take it with him:

Rather, his frugality — the plastic bag that served as a briefcase, the drugstore reading glasses, his $15 plastic watch — stemmed from an urgent desire to take the fortune that he sacrificed years of his life making and give it, nearly every cent, away. For nearly 15 years, this entrepreneur and silent benefactor wasn’t even working for himself anymore: He had secretly transferred his share of the company that he co-founded and ran to his offshore foundation. It would become one of the biggest and most unusual philanthropic feats in history. But it came with one ironclad caveat: that no one should ever know his name.