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Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

forbes.com

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Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#291

Post by boca_honey »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #280
Balgair wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what the actual name of the phenomenon is but I've heard it call 'wife-name-last name' syndrome. Basically, the uber rich want to be seen as something more than just money. Guys like Anschutz and whatnot. There seems to be a pattern where they get a new shiny glass and steel building with a bunch of sick kids in it, and then they put the wife's name, an ampersand, his name, and the last name in big 3-D l…

Most of the worlds money is sitting in the Cayman’s after-all, or hidden away as art investments inside of storage containers.

Is it really? Where can I read about it?

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#292

Post by mattmanser »

smillbag wrote: post #268
settrans wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An Open Letter from Economists on the Estate Tax To whom it may concern: Spend your money on riotous living – no tax; leave your money to your children – the tax collector gets paid first. That is the message sent by the estate tax. It is a bad message and the estate tax is a bad tax. The basic argument against the estate tax is moral. It taxes virtue – living frugally and accumulating wealth. It discourages saving a…

> The basic argument against the estate tax is moral. It taxes virtue – living frugally and accumulating wealth. Is there something virtuous about hoarding wealth?

Turning greed into a virtue, feels like something only an American economist could do!

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#293

Post by jmt_ »

jariel wrote: post #82
read_if_gay_ wrote: post #2

Mad respect, not letting that amount of money get to your head and not wasting it on vain stuff surely takes some crazy discipline.

It's not 'discipline' though. If you were raised a certain way, in a certain era, it wouldn't be rational to spend it on 'frivolity'. There are a lot of people like this. Tons of very rich folks living in normal homes, driving normal cars that they 'never buy news'. I think in some ways more common than not, especially in more rural and suburban areas wherein projecting wealth isn't actually necessary to their profes…

I agree. I don't think it's a surprise that someone who grew up during the Great Depression could be so frugal, even with massive wealth. Many people who were young during this time seem traumatized by it, often including their children.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#294

Post by fourseventy »

cantrevealname wrote: post #19

> Where did $8 billion go: health, science, education, and social action Other than science, those are some very bloated and inefficient causes. $1 billion to Cornell? Aren't most of the prestigious universities already swimming in billions of dollars of endowments? He can do what he wants of course, but it would have been nicer if the money was targeted to long shot bets--that only a super rich person could fund--ra…

He gives away 8 billion dollars and you bitch and moan about it, what a joke

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#296

Post by renewiltord »

jldugger wrote: post #235
alasdair_ wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The guy who donated the most money explicitly wanted anonymity.

Then why are we talking about it?

Because societally we want to encourage the act of giving anonymously with a big reveal in the twilight years? Doesn't sound that hard to understand.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#297

Post by clinta »

smillbag wrote: post #268
settrans wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An Open Letter from Economists on the Estate Tax To whom it may concern: Spend your money on riotous living – no tax; leave your money to your children – the tax collector gets paid first. That is the message sent by the estate tax. It is a bad message and the estate tax is a bad tax. The basic argument against the estate tax is moral. It taxes virtue – living frugally and accumulating wealth. It discourages saving a…

> The basic argument against the estate tax is moral. It taxes virtue – living frugally and accumulating wealth. Is there something virtuous about hoarding wealth?

Those who "hoard" wealth do not do so by filling a swimming pool with gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. They invest in companies that provide jobs and the goods and services that the rest of us enjoy. Yes that is virtuous.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#298

Post by jacquesm »

That's one person I definitely admire. Not afraid to play the game and not afraid to end it on his terms. It's one thing to amass a billion or more, quite another to purposefully, part by part dismantle that empire until there is absolutely nothing left with an unknown chunk of life at the end of it.

Chuck Feeney is officially welcome at my table, anytime.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#299

Post by caturopath »

r00fus wrote: post #152
rabidrat wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article says he put away $2m for his and his wife's retirement. While I agree it's not quite 'broke' in the classic American sense, it is .025% of his former net worth of $8b.

Yeah, the word "broke" is clickbait. $2m for retirement is more than most. It's simply "not extravagant" which I guess from the eyes of the wealthy class may as well be "broke".

Certainly not broke, but it seems difficult to find a way without hyperbole to indicate that he's given away billions and now is no longer in the top 10% of people in his age bracket in the US.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#300

Post by jacquesm »

SeanLuke wrote: post #284

I vaguely recall that there are classic levels in Jewish philosophy regarding philanthropy, and among the highest is to give with no expectation of any return whatsoever: that means not only giving where it matters, but to do so anonymously, to organizations that don't benefit you (no opera companies), and to people with no ties to you. In this respect Chuck Feeney has been incredible. This is not to dismiss the like…

That's a good point. And 'broke' isn't 100% broke just yet, he's not going to have to sleep under a bridge. But he's broke enough that the wrong accident can put him on the far side of the line easily enough. Obviously this goes for many people but they tend to end up in that situation by accident, not by design and as an example to other billionaires he's pretty impressive.

Try imagining Larry Ellison doing this.

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