The Billionaire Who Gave It All Away. Really!

A number of billionaires have pledged to give their fortunes away, but you know they'll go on living the lush life. 

Not Chuck Feeney, who now lives in a rented San Francisco apartment and is said to own one pair of shoes. Remarkably, reports The Guardian, this billionaire has actually given almost all of it away.

Chuck Feeney has achieved his lifetime ambition: giving away his $8bn fortune while he is still around to see the impact it has made.

For the past 38 years, Feeney, an Irish American who made billions from a duty-free shopping empire, has been making endowments to charities and universities across the world with the goal of “striving for zero … to give it all away”.

This week Feeney, 89, achieved his goal. The Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation he set up in secret in 1982 and transferred almost all of his wealth to, has finally run out of money.

The head of Feeney's foundation said his boss had once tried to live a life of luxury but it didn’t suit him. “He had nice places [homes] and nice things. He tried it on and it wasn’t for him."  

Where Should Billionaires Shelter?

Proactive wealth managers help their wealthiest clients with as many of life's questions as possible. Lately top wealth holders  have faced a vexing decision: Where to shelter in place to avoid Covid-19?

Billionaires have a range of choices....

Principal residence. A Central Park South triplex or a London town house may offer every convenience, but exposure to staff and other locals who live in these Covid-19 hot spots is undesirable.

Nantucket

Summer home. Decamping to one's summer place in Nantucket or the Hamptons is a popular shelter choice. Locals, however, have proved resentful of top wealth holders and their entourages. (If only we had enough testing to make out-of-staters less threatening.)

Go West. Billionaire landholdings typically include a Texas ranch or a spread near the Grand Tetons. These isolated properties could be a good shelter choice, assuming life in the boonies doesn’t get too boring. Here again, however, the locals aren’t necessarily welcoming.

The family yacht.  David Geffen popularized this shelter alternative. Advantage: the ability to pull up anchor for periodic changes of scene. Possible disadvantages: Most billionaires’ yachts are not as big as Geffen's. Also, there’s a risk that a crew member could become infected and make a yacht unweloomc in other ports.

The family bunker. Before MAGA, top wealth holders who feared the worst included a bunker in their survival plans. Now these underground havens offer another way to shelter in place. As with the boonies, boredom could set in and there’s no sunshine. Still, a deluxe bunker in New Zealand might have appeal. New Zealand has only been grazed by the virus, so billionaires who tire of living in their burrows might feel comfortable enough to venture out into the open air.

Where Harried Billionaires Go to Ground

Beachfront villa, Albany, the Bahamas

This week Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf, at a resort where he owns a home – Albany in the Bahamas.

Many of Tiger's Albany neighbors are even richer than he is, but perhaps not happier. "Billionaire," Tiger suggests,  is a high-stress life style.

We have one-tenth of all the billionaires on the planet here, and that’s saying something. For them to come down here and feel safe and feel like they can be here and operate and run their businesses but also bring their families and enjoy leisure time here as well, and have that privacy, is incredible.

Those of us who can't afford Albany still can admire a resort where the marina accommodates a 300-foot yacht. Check out the web site.

From the Databank: Millionaires and Billionaires

1.1 Million

Number of new millionaire households in the U.S. last year, as estimated by Boston Consulting Group.

7.1 Million

Total number of millionaire households in the U.S.

16.3 Million

Total millionaire households worldwide.

32

Percentage of wealth that Americans with more than $1 million are holding in cash, according to State Street's Center for Applied Research.

50

Number of new names on Forbes latest list of U.S. billionaires.

492

Total number of U.S. billionaires.

1,645

Total number of billionaires worldwide.

Billionaires Aren’t What They Used to Be

Sixty-one American billionaires failed to make the new Forbes 400 Richest list. To make the cut required at least $1.3 billion.

Youth helped. Twenty members of the 400 are under age 45.

Richest woman: Christy Walton, with $34.5 billion.