# Billionaire philanthropist's biography to be published

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/08/26/billionaire-philanthropist039s-biography-be-published/
- Published: 2007-08-26T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The new biography of legendary American philanthropist Chuck Feeney will be published
next week. ‘The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave 
Away a Fortune,’ by Conor O’Cleary, will be published on 3rd September.**

Extracts from the biography, which costs £15, have been published in the Irish Times,
describing Feeney’s decision to give away his original $8 billion fortune. Under
the umbrella of Atlantic Philanthropies, Feeney has given away €4 billion so far
and plans to distribute the balance within ten years.

The book describes how Feeney was heavily influenced by his attorney and adviser,
Harvey Dale, who introduced him to the concept of giving-while-living. Feeney’s 
decision to give away his money, originally secretly, was encapsulated in the statement:

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“I came to the conclusion I didn’t need a lot of money because I didn’t intend to
live a lifestyle that required it,” he said.

Since the 1980s **Atlantic Philanthropies** has given over €1 billion to education,
research, human rights and political reconciliation in Ireland. Atlantic’s policies
currently include Ageing, Disadvantaged Children and Youth, Population Health and
Reconciliation and Human Rights.

 * **[The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/the-billionaire-who-wasnt/)(
   book)**
 * **[Encore – Chuck Feeney: All duty – Good Bad Billionaire](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct7q8t),
   BBC Radio 4 (26 September 2023)**