"For how does it benefit man if his status is raised but he himself is not raised?" - Mahatma Gandhi.
Nowadays, the above thought often comes to mind while watching the news and reading the papers: a governor taking bribes, the head of a major stock exchange caught in a Ponzi scandal that ripped off $50 billion from investors, the person selected for commerce secretary withdraws his nomination as a result of an investigation into improper business dealings, the guy selected for treasury had failed to pay $34,000 in taxes; the very people who preach morality and ethics caught in scandals of immoral and unethical acts. Such acts are not exclusive to the United States, the latest one is the $1.5 billion false earnings reports by corporate executives at Satyam. (Satya in Sanskrit means Truth).
For a moment it seems that can not trust any one around us. Is there any good left in this world?
But on further reflecting, for every one person that is bad, there are millions of good people in this world. And there are many who have managed their success with great humility and kindness. Today's FR talks about one such person and future articles will cover many more.
Story Line: "Fortune does not change a man, it only unmasks him." An old Chinese proverb that was the final message in the book: "The Billionare Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune", by Conor O'Clery.
Chuck Feeney was raised in a blue-collar Irish Catholic family in New Jersey. After leaving the army, Feeney started a business called Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) with a partner, Robert Miller. Being extremely cost conscious, he held meetings in coffee shops and had no entertainment budget. Leveraging his previous experience with the army and knowledge of different cultures, he made DFS into an international empire.
At the age of 53, he decided to give away his billions for worthy causes, but he kept himself out of the limelight. Only 15 years later, when a legal problem in the business forced him to reveal the secret of his philanthropic acts, his identity as a donor became public.
The following expert from BusinessWeek sums up his life: "He avoids luxury, buys his suits off the rack, uses a plastic bag for a briefcase, sports drugstore spectacles, wears a $15 plastic watch, and flies coach. He owns no house and no car. He wonders aloud about the need for more than one pair of shoes. When he's in New York, he likes to dine on chicken pot pies at grubby midtown dives."
"It has always been hard for me to rationalize a 32,000-square-foot house or someone driving me around in a six-door Cadillac," the publicity-phobic Feeney told BusinessWeek in a rare interview in 2003. "The seats are the same in a cab. And you may live longer if you walk." As New York Times columnist Jim Dwyer once said, this is a man whose life is like Donald Trump's, only backwards.
And Chuck Feeney has instructed his foundation to give away his remaining $8 billion by the year 2016.
Reflection: Fortune does not change a man, it only unmasks him.
So True
Posted by: Simon | January 15, 2009 at 10:30 PM
We have an institution called "The society for Moral uplifting here in Penang. The paking lot is filled with Benzes, BMWs and other fancy cars. If you want to send the type of guys you mention in your first patagaph here for transformation, they would be welcome.
Posted by: Anon | January 16, 2009 at 06:38 AM
@Anon - I suspect that the membership fee to join this Society is quite high?
Posted by: Martin | January 16, 2009 at 07:29 AM
The quotes from Mahatma Gandhi always amaze me. It seems as though whatever he uttered, were golden words for generations to cherish. I wish we have more people like him in this crazy world. We owe him so much
Posted by: Ram | January 16, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Chuck Feeney sounds like he was an amazing person.
He was born with nothing and left knowing that he could not take his wealth with him and decided to make a difference in the life of others w/o taking credit for this. This is definitely incredible and inspiring.
I’ll have to read more about him.
Posted by: JR | January 16, 2009 at 11:28 AM
With economy in Signal 5, severe RECESSION, what we need in USA is Society of Morale uplifiting. Moral with a BIG E added on the end.
Posted by: Roger | January 16, 2009 at 11:31 AM
wow.....I am a Rotarian and try a little to give back. Chuck Feeney makes it sound simple and enjoyable. Learnt a lesson today......Thanks
Posted by: HARSHVIR | January 19, 2009 at 02:44 AM