Chuck Feeney : The Philanthropreneur Who Lives to Give

Although some rags-to-riches billionaires pointedly distance themselves from their shabby childhood, Chuck Feeney is comfortable living simply. In fact, he prefers it, despite his great aptitude for making money. Rather than stockpiling his fortune, he has been busily giving it all away. The last grants to be handed out in 2016 will wrap up 30-odd years of donating a total of $7.5 billion to education, civil rights, health care and science initiatives.

Feeney, now 84, grew up in New Jersey after the Great Depression, served in the Air Force and earned a scholarship to Cornell University. Soon after graduation, Feeney's entrepreneurial spirit sent him peddling tax-free alcohol to U.S. Navy sailors. With the addition of a few partners, the business grew into Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), operating in 27 countries by 1964. That same year, Japan lifted restrictions on its citizens traveling abroad and they became ultra-profitable patrons of DFS, the company rushing to preemptively open branches based on Japanese tourist trends. Feeney's yearly income from dividends grew one hundredfold to $12 million in 1977, and kept climbing.

The shrewd businessman continued actively pursuing expansion. Yet behind the scenes, he quietly transferred his entire 38.75 percent share of DFS to a new project, Atlantic Philanthropies, in 1984.

查克．費尼：免稅購物集團大亨的慈善之路
儘管有些白手起家的億萬富翁會刻意與自己的貧困童年保持距離，查克．費尼卻安於簡樸的生活。事實上，儘管深具賺錢的才能，他卻比較喜歡這樣的日子。與其累積財富，他反倒忙著把錢都捐出去。預計在 2016 年支付的最後幾筆捐款將總結其 30 多年的捐贈生涯，他共為教育、民權、醫護以及科學等領域的計畫捐贈了 75 億美元。
現年 84 歲的費尼成長於經濟大蕭條後的紐澤西，曾在空軍服役，並獲得康乃爾大學的獎學金。畢業後不久，費尼的企業家靈魂促使他向美國海軍水手兜售免稅酒品。在幾位夥伴加入之後，他的事業便成長為「免稅購物客」公司，到了 1964 年時，營業據點已遍及 27 國。就在同一年，日本放寬國民出國旅遊的限制，日本旅客於是成為 DFS 最揮金如土的主顧，該公司因而趁著這股日本旅客潮搶先開設分店。費尼藉由分紅賺得的年收入在 1977 年成長一百倍，達到 1,200 萬美元，並持續攀升。
這位精明的生意人繼續積極尋求拓展。然而私底下，他卻在 1984 年將自己所有的 38.75% DFS 股份默默移轉至一項新計畫：大西洋慈善集團。