Entrepreneur and philanthropist Charles F. “Chuck” Feeney is best known for his business success as the co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers. However, his approach to giving away his fortune during his lifetime has also made him a legendary leader in philanthropy
Feeney graduated from Cornell University in 1956 and supported his alma mater throughout his life. Cornell celebrated his legacy with a 2026 exhibition, “Giving While Living: The Legacy of Chuck Feeney at Cornell and Beyond.”
On display are Feeney’s personal papers and photographs, donated to Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections by The Atlantic Philanthropies, a foundation he established in 1982.
Feeney’s “Giving While Living” Approach to Philanthropy
Feeney had a unique philanthropic philosophy, “Giving While Living,” that shaped how he gave throughout his life. In addition to his giving, Feeney also helped facilitate the peace process in Northern Ireland. He helped end the juvenile death penalty in the U.S. and helped secure lifesaving medication for HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa.
And while Feeney’s legacy is defined by the magnitude of his giving, many of his largest donations were made anonymously, as he often preferred to stay out of the spotlight.
To ensure his wealth would be fully distributed during his lifetime, Feeney set Atlantic Philanthropies on a fixed-term giving model in 2002. All financial grant commitments ended in 2016, and the organization closed in 2020, just a few years before Feeney passed away at 92.
How Feeney Gave Back to Cornell University
Feeney’s commitment to Cornell resulted in many transformative gifts that benefited students, faculty and staff.
- In 2011, Atlantic anonymously made a record $350 million grant to fund the first phase of construction of the Cornell Tech campus in New York City.
- Feeney’s generosity established the Cornell Tradition, an endowment that awards fellowships to students based on academic achievement and service.
- Atlantic provided funding to launch the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development, the Center for the Study of Inequality and the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.
In recognition of his support, Cornell renamed a street on its Ithaca campus “Feeney Way” in 2021 to mark his 90th birthday. A second “Feeney Way” was named at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City.
A Cornellian Tradition of Supporting Higher Education
In 2015, Feeney received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his lifelong commitment and contributions. He is among a select group of Cornellians to earn this recognition, including Robert F. Smith in 2019. Smith, like Feeney, has shown a lifetime commitment to giving back to their alma mater.
In 2016, Smith made a $50 million combined commitment with Fund II Foundation to support Cornell’s College of Engineering. This gift funded a fellowship program at Cornell Tech and the university renamed the school the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to honor Smith’s support of his alma mater.
Learn more about Smith and his support of higher education causes with his philanthropy on YouTube and LinkedIn.