PublicAffairs Books good books about things that matter
Book Jacket THE BILLIONAIRE WHO WASN'T
How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune
CONOR O'CLERY
SUMMARY  |  EXCERPT   |  AUTHOR'S NOTE   |  QUOTES
The secret life of the billionaire who is determined to give all his money away before he dies—it's harder than you think!

In 1988 Forbes Magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the twenty-third richest American alive. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression, a veteran of the Korean War, he had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. But secretly, Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies. Only in 1997, when he sold his duty free interests, was he "outed" as one of the greatest and most mysterious American philanthropists in modern times. A frugal man who travels economy class and does not own a house or a car, Feeney then went "underground" again, until he decided in 2005 to cooperate in a biography to promote giving-while-living. Now in his mid-seventies, he is determined his foundation should spend the remaining $4 billion in his lifetime. The Billionaire Who Wasn't is a tale of one of the greatest untold retail triumphs of the twentieth century, and of what happens to a unique man and his family when confronted with wealth beyond imagining.

Conor O'Clery is an award-winning journalist and author who served as foreign correspondent for The Irish Times in London, Moscow, Beijing, Washington, and New York. He has written books on Russian, Irish, and American politics. He now lives in Dublin, Ireland.
National television and radio publicity
Business features
On-line marketing
HARDCOVER
ISBN 978-1-58648-391-3
Pub date: 09/24/07
Price: $26.95/32.50 Canada
6 1/8 x 9 1/4
352 pages
8 pp. b/w photographs
Carton Quantity: 24
Biography, Business
Selling Territory: W
Rights: First Serial, British Commonwealth, Translation, Audio & Electronic Rights: PublicAffairs
Performance Rights: International Creative Management

PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-1-58648-642-6
Pub date: 09/22/08
Price: $15.95/17.00 Canada
5 1/2 x 8 1/4
368 pages
8 pp. b/w photos
Carton Quantity: 24
Biography, Business
Selling Territory: W
Pub history: Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-58648-391-3

   ABOUT US    STAFF DIRECTORY    ORDERING INFORMATION    PRIVACY POLICY