What can you do before leaving this planet to make it a better place?

It might be too grand to think, but we know we can all do something to leave a mark before we depart this world.

For billionaire Chuck Feeney, he wanted to give everything away to help others.

People might think it’s a crazy idea – to live rich and die broke – but for Chuck, he would rather give it all away and see what change he has done than when he is dead and won’t see the impact he has made.

This attitude is innate, especially in how Chuck grew up to be.

He was born at the time of the Great Depression. With the economic situation and being born with little money, he worked hard to get what he wanted.

Like any other child, Chuck used education as his first step to success.

After high school, he joined the Air Force, which paved the way for his college education at Cornell University through the G.I. bill. He studied business and used that knowledge and experience overseas to build a business that people would patronize.

Chuck founded the Duty Free Shoppers.

It started selling booze to sailors in the Atlantic Fleet until it expanded to selling perfumes and chocolates to tourists. By the 80s, he found himself in a massive amount of wealth. He bought properties, and built houses; hosted parties with other elites. However, this wasn’t what made him happy.

Then, he made a decision that shocked the people around him: he decided to give away all his money.

He kept enough money for him and his family to get by and gave the rest of it to charity. He wanted to help others in need and impact the world.

That’s when he started Atlantic Philanthropies.

His first project was in Ireland. At that time, Limerick needed a university. He decided to help put up the University of Limerick. The rest of the country heard about this and want to do the same. It just snowballed from there.

Seeing his success in Ireland, he turned his head to Vietnam.

He saw how they still need a lot of help, especially in their health care system. Chuck decided that Atlantic Philanthropies could help build hospitals and commune health centers. Again, like in Ireland, it started a domino effect on the rest of the country.

But they weren’t done yet. They headed to South Africa and saw what they could do.

Like Ireland, South Africa needed higher education. They built the University of Western Cape. Aside from education, Atlantic Philanthropies also supported the plight of the society like the gay rights and HIV movements.

After all those, Atlantic Philanthropies finally set a limit for their missions.

While it might sound like an end, Chuck only wanted to ensure that his organization could still sustain those he supported through the years. He also wants to see their progress while he is still alive.

They gave their last grants in 2016 and gave out $8 Billion worth of grants.

Watch more in the video below.

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Source: atlanticphil YouTube Channel, Atlantic Philanthropies, MSN