The generosity of the "extraordinary" Chuck Feeney has played a major factor in the recent transformation of Ireland, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said last night at the launch of a biography of the Irish-American philanthropist in Dublin.
"Nobody, nobody else can equal the story, in my view, of Chuck Feeney," Mr Ahern said.
That story is told in The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune, by former Irish Timesjournalist Conor O'Clery.
Mr Feeney became a billionaire through his chain of duty free shops but in 1984 he transferred his fortune to his Atlantic Philanthropies foundation. The foundation has donated $4 billion worldwide and it will spend the remaining $4 billion in the next decade. Academic and social causes in Ireland have received nearly €1.4 billion since 1990.
Until recently, Mr Feeney's giving was in secret. He refuses to allow buildings to be named after him or plaques erected in his honour. Mr O'Clery said the philanthropist agreed to co-operate with the biography, in order to promote giving while living among the wealthy. "He has no ego . . . he always chooses the second cheapest wine from the wine list," Mr O'Clery said. "When we travelled together, he was always dressed like a down-at-heel American tourist."
The Taoiseach joked that Mr Feeney's generosity kept him busy for years as he went around opening university buildings funded by the philanthropist. "I think most people thought it was Government money. I didn't mind. Chuck never turned up," he said.
The book was launched in the James Ussher library in Trinity College.
