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| |  | Computers & Internet | Home » » » The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing | | | | | | | Description: | | In 1988 Forbes Magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the twenty-third richest American alive. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression, a veteran of the Korean War, he had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. 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. A frugal man who travels economy class and does not own a house or a car, Feeney then went "underground" again, until he decided in 2005 to cooperate in a biography to promote giving-while-living. Now in his mid-seventies, he is determined his foundation should spend the remaining $4 billion in his lifetime. The Billionaire Who Wasn't is a tale of one of the greatest untold retail triumphs of the twentieth century, and of what happens to a unique man and his family when confronted with wealth beyond imagining. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Conor O'Clery | | Hardcover:
| 352 pages | | Publisher:
| PublicAffairs | | Publication Date:
| September 24, 2007 | | Package Length:
| 9.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.35 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 16 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 No shipment , no replyOct 30, 2009
I did not receive this book nor did I receive the courtesy of a reply from the vendor when I inquired about it (twice). After waiting a month I cancelled the charges on PayPal and on my credit card.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 We all can be more than we expectSep 11, 2009
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
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 The example billionaireJul 22, 2009
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.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The Billionaire Who Wasn'tMar 16, 2009
The intervention of Atlantic Foundation in Ireland has been epoch-making, and comes as a result of the great selflessness and the veritable Franciscan renunciation of one man in particular, Mr Chuck Feeney. Chuck Feeney has made an important, distinctive, and most generous contribution to developments in Ireland in the fields of education and research, and also to help advance the peace process in Northern Ireland. As Time magazine put it: "Feeney's beneficence already ranks among the grandest of any living American and may someday make him the most generous American philanthropist of all time". In 1988 Forbes magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American. No one knew until then that he was extremely wealthy. The great untold story is that Feeney had in fact given away his fortune, in its totality, to endow Atlantic Philanthropics-one of the most generous and secretive philanthropic funds in the world (just like Opus Dei). Feeney is a frugal man who travels economy class and does not own a house or a car. He has largely kept out of the public eye-until now. He has revealed his secret life only because he hopes his story will encourage something in which he passionately believes: that rich individuals ought to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds which he is called upon to administer...to produce the most beneficial result for the community while they are alive. Dr Jusuf Hariman.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
simply fascinating...an excellent biographyAug 08, 2008
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.
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