NEW DECADE - Secret Billionaire: The Chuck Feeney Story

Chuck Feeney has just put into practice something he had been considering for many years. He has decided that all the vast wealth he accumulated in his lifetime should be given away while he is still alive. The graying but well preserved 72-year-old New Jersey native persuaded the board of Atlantic Philanthropies, which he created two decades ago, to convert its $4 billion in assets into cash, disperse it to good causes over the next 12 to 15 years, and shut up shop.

It is better, he reckons, to concentrate its vast resources on the problems of today, and leave it to the next generation of philanthropists to address the issues of the future. He hopes his example of giving now to make a meaningful impact will encourage other philanthropists to increase their charitable giving while alive. He is convinced that it is the right thing to do. He intends that "Giving While Living" should be his legacy.

For this reason, Chuck Feeney broke a life-long practice of avoiding the media and agreed for the first time to talk about his rise from modest beginnings to billionaire status as the founder of Duty Free Shops and about his decision to give it all away.

To view trailer, click here to watch on our vimeo site.

Producer: Nuala Cunningham

Director: Ciaran O'Connor

Editor: Andrew Hearne

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