Chuck Feeney

Charles Francis Feeney (April 23, 1931 – October 9, 2023) was an American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, the travel retailer of luxury products based in Hong Kong. He was the founder of the Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world. Feeney gave away his fortune in secret for many years, choosing to be anonymous, and donating more than $8 billion in his lifetime.

Early life and education

Feeney was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on April 23, 1931, during the Great Depression, to Irish-American parents. His mother was a hospital nurse, and his father was an insurance underwriter. His ancestry can be traced to County Fermanagh in the North of Ireland.

As a youth, Feeney worked selling Christmas cards door-to-door, as a golf caddy, and shoveling snow from driveways. He graduated from Elizabeth's St. Mary of the Assumption High School in 1949 and later credited his charitable spirit to his education there. His 2016 donation of $250,000 was the largest in the school's history from a single contributor. He served as a U.S. Air Force radio operator during the Korean War and began his career selling duty-free liquor to U.S. naval personnel at Mediterranean ports in the 1950s.

Feeney graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 1956. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi and an honorary member of the Sphinx Head Society.