Chuck Feeney on personal agency
From Charles F. Feeney '56 receives the Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship and Humanity · · Entrepreneurship at Cornell
“Life can change and I can change it.”
On , Chuck Feeney, Co-founder of Atlantic Philanthropies at The Atlantic Philanthropies, spoke about personal agency during Charles F. Feeney '56 receives the Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship and Humanity on Entrepreneurship at Cornell.
About Chuck Feeney
Chuck Feeney, co-founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies, has continued to be recognized for his lifetime of philanthropy and his "giving while living" philosophy. In December 2021, Cornell University presented him with the first Charles F. Feeney '56 Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship and Humanity. During the event, speakers noted that Feeney grew up in modest circumstances, attended Cornell on the GI Bill, and later founded the duty-free business DFS Group. They described his giving as having been largely anonymous for many years, a choice Feeney's associate attributed to his personal modesty and desire to keep his family life private. Feeney has stated that he sees "little reason to delay giving when so much good can be achieved through supporting worthwhile causes today." Feeney has frequently spoken about his motivation for philanthropy, emphasizing empathy for those in need. He has said, "I think life is a learning process and you read books, you read stories, you empathize with people," and noted that he "had always empathized with people who have it tough in life." In various remarks, Feeney has expressed that giving while alive allows one to see the impact and "modify your mistakes," adding that it provides "satisfaction that you're achieving something that is helpful to people." He has also stated that there is "an obligation, certainly for the haves to reach out and to look and see what they can do." The Atlantic Philanthropies was scheduled to complete its work in 2016, having given away billions of dollars globally.