Six Lessons from Chuck Feeney: The Billionaire Who Wasn’t

Chuck Feeney passed away in October this year. In his honour, I’m sharing six lessons I’ve learned from Chuck and how each has impacted my life.

I have always been drawn to stories of people who change the path of their lives towards one of service. Some that have stood out are the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, the story of Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the story of Robert F Kennedy, Jr. and the story of Ethan Berman. But none has had a bigger impact on my life than the story of Chuck Feeney.

Chuck Feeney is one of my heroes. In October this year, he passed away at the age of 92. I had always wanted to write to Chuck to thank him for being such an inspiration in my life. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity. Instead, in his honour, I’d like to share six lessons I’ve learned from Chuck Feeney and how each has impacted my life.

1. Follow your heart. Always.

The period from 2005 to 2006 was pivotal in my life. I was lost. I had no money and no idea what to do with my life. I was so driven by wanting to contribute to the world yet I didn’t know how. 

I had always wanted to be an investor. But I was torn. Investing felt too driven by financial motives and not driven enough by helping make the world a better place. But having no money at the time and a debilitating illness simplified things. I made a promise to myself: if I got better, I would do what I love and what I feel best at (investing), and I would use any financial success I had to help make the world a better place. 

I committed myself wholeheartedly to investing. It felt like the right decision; I was happy. But it wasn’t until 2007 that it all clicked. That pivotal moment was when my dad gave me a book called “The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing”. It was unusual for Dad to gift me a book but he said it reminded him of me. (I am definitely not claiming that association though!)

Since reading that book, I have never once questioned the path that I am on as an investor. It feels like my best and highest use as a human. Even though I can't clearly see all the reasons why, I am trusting the process with the mindset that “with good intent, good things will happen”.

2. Investing can be a noble pursuit.

In 1980, Chuck founded General Atlantic, an investment firm set up to compound his capital in high growth businesses. The primary beneficiary of GA’s investment returns was Chuck’s charitable fund, Atlantic Philanthropies (AP). 

Starting with $3.5bn of capital, GA grew it to $8bn all while giving money away. That’s enough firepower for giving away a million dollars a day for 20 years! Chuck reportedly remarked: “We’ve managed the fund so effectively that it’s growing faster than I can spend it.”

I love the pursuit of investing. The idea that compounding capital at high rates will give our charitable foundation the ability to do good things in the world makes me love it even more. It gives me a huge sense of purpose. The GA/AP model helped crystallise this sense of purpose for me. 

3. Give it away.

I am not religious but I was brought up in the Christian religion. I was in the local church choir. I would go to Sunday school and do bible study with my grandparents. Whilst I don’t remember many direct quotes from the bible, Matthew 19:24 stuck in my head: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” Christianity isn’t the only religion that has this view.

Chuck Feeney lived this principle. He believed in “giving while living”. He famously said that he wanted the last check that he wrote to bounce. 

I am not sure “heaven” exists or if it does, in what form. But I do believe there is a heavy weight associated with attachment to the material possessions of this physical world; with hoarding wealth and attachment to its excessive trappings.

Chuck Feeney always struck me as someone at peace with his decision to give it all away. More than that, it gave him joy. 

When I was going through that tough period in 2005, I was incredibly fortunate to have both the support of my family and Australia’s social welfare system. I couldn’t work; I lived with my parents and received a sickness benefit from the government. I promised myself that if I recovered, I would do everything I could to never be a burden to my family or Australian taxpayers again. First, I had to earn enough to financially look after myself, then, enough to look after my family if I was lucky enough to have one. But over and above that, I wanted to contribute to the community that was there for me during a tough time.

10 years later, we set up the TDM Foundation for this purpose. We are 6 years in so we are just getting started. We have big goals. So much of TDMF is inspired by Chuck and AP. 

I hope the last time I tap my debit card, it declines!

4 (a). Compassion: Do good because it feels good.

Courage and compassion have long been my two guiding personal values in life. I believe that the common attributes of anyone who has made a positive contribution to the world by any measure are courage and compassion.  

Chuck demonstrated immense compassion for humanity. He had a core belief: The purpose of wealth is to help improve the human condition. He realised after achieving substantial financial success that the greatest feeling in life is “the feeling you get from helping others”. The simple idea is that the reason to help others is not just because it’s “the right thing to do” or that you “should”. It’s because if you do good, you feel good. To me, that is authentic compassion. It comes from a place of love. 

Nothing speaks to his altruistic intent more than the fact that until 2002 all the recipients of his donations were not permitted to disclose the source of their grants. This was hundreds of millions that were attributed to an anonymous donor. The anonymity requirements were lifted in 2002 so that “its staff and advisors were much better able to build trust and working relationships with civil society and public agencies.”

4 (b). Courage: Do the hard things. 

It’s one thing to have compassion, it’s another thing to act on it. Chuck was a man of action. He made the hard decisions. 

Much like Siddharta the Buddha leaving the palace walls to live an ascetic life, Chuck walked away from his riches, his mansions, the ego associated with wealth and even his first marriage. There was no PR campaign to tell the world when he made the decision. He did it in secret. 

His vast wealth was eventually outed by Forbes magazine after he had pledged all his assets to AP. Hence, he was dubbed “the billionaire who wasn’t”. After being outed, he became renowned for his modest lifestyle, flying economy class, wearing a $15 Cassia watch and living in a rented apartment.

Chuck wasn’t only about distributing his wealth. He also had the courage to go after hard challenges, using his entrepreneurial and leadership capability to fight for peace. Whilst he was born in New Jersey, his family roots were in Ireland. He was instrumental in forging the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s.

Every day I wake up and remind myself in my morning meditation that today I will get the opportunity to live with both courage and compassion. Every night, I meditate on my gratitude for that opportunity and reflect on whether I lived up to it. 

For many years, “The Billionaire Who Wasn’t” sat on my desk as a small symbol of what I was doing and why I was doing it; a constant reminder to live with courage and compassion.

5. Don’t be preachy.

One of the things that I love about Chuck is that he wasn't “preachy”. He inspired so many to give away their wealth. Even Warren Buffett says that Chuck is his hero. But it never felt like he passed judgement on what others “should do”.  He said, “I'd be the last guy to tell a wealthy person what to do with their money. They're entitled to do whatever they want.” 

So whilst I want to follow in his footsteps to a large extent, I will be the last person to pass judgement on what others choose to do with their money. Buffett has pledged to give away almost all his money. I definitely wouldn’t criticise him for having a private jet. Even he calls it “the indefensible”. In my view, if you are fortunate enough to have money beyond funding the basics, it’s OK to enjoy the benefits.

In my mind, the key is to remember that the more lasting and heart-warming joy in life is to help others.

6. Don’t wait to write to your heroes.

Dear Chuck,

I’m sorry I didn’t get the opportunity to write this before your passing. I would have liked to thank you—you have been a pivotal person in my life. At a time when I would sometimes second guess my decision to be an investor, you gave me the conviction that I was heading down the right path. You helped me see that investing done right can be a noble cause. 

I can see now that the investment decisions we make impact the world that is being created for the next generation. I can see how our foundation can have a positive impact on the world. This not only feels good but it is incredibly motivating. 

My two most important personal values are courage and compassion. You exemplify both. The compassion to see how you could serve humanity. The courage to change your path and make it happen. 

Thank you,

Hamish

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