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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Secret $350 Million gift to New York by Irish American billionaire Chuck Feeney -- Will go to build new Silicon Valley

Posted on Monday, December 19, 2011 at 11:50 PM

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Chuck Feeney - Irish American business man and philanthropist

Irish American billionaire Chuck Feeney has been named as the person who donated $350 million to building the new hi-tech graduate school on Roosevelt Island in New York.

Cornell University, Feeney’s old college, beat out Stanford University and other top schools to build the institute.

They will partner with the Techno-Israel Institute of Technology

The $2 billion project is an effort to build a Silicon Valley type research institute in the heart of New York.

Feeney is founder of Atlantic Philanthropies, which has given over $4 billion mainly to education and medical projects.

He has given hundreds of millions to Irish universities and charitable projects.

He was inaugurated into the Irish America Hall of Fame in March of this year by Irish America magazine.

He played a leading role in the Irish peace process as part of an Irish American delegation who got President Clinton involved in the process.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Feeney said in a statement, “to create economic and educational opportunity on a transformational scale.”

Read more: Irish America Hall of Fame: Charles Feeney

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “Today will be remembered as a defining moment...In a word, this project is going to be transformative.”

Bloomberg stated that the project would include a $150 million venture capital fund for start-up and a math and science education backing for 10,000 city children.

He stated that building the college would create 20,000 construction jobs, and ultimately create 30,000 more permanent jobs and as much as $1.4 billion in tax revenue. The city is giving the land and up to $100 million in infrastructure improvements.

“New York City is positioned to become the new technology capital of the world,” David J. Skorton, the Cornell president told The New York Times.

Chuck Feeney was born in 1931 and raised in a working class section of Elizabeth, NJ during the Great Depression. His father, the son of an immigrant from Co. Fermanagh, Ireland, was an insurance salesman and his mother was a nurse.

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mojo145 | Dec 27, 2011, 09:15 PM EST

Thank you Mr. Feeney.

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brianmack | Dec 20, 2011, 08:49 PM EST

I lived and worked as an investment banker in Honolulu in the seventies. My side kick, who was a Navy fighter pilot knew Mr. Feeney first hand. I used to hear the stories about Feeney's car ( i think it was several years old) and, when he sold Duty Free how he kept little for himself and family but gave 98% to a charitable trust. We never went public with this knowledge but now that it has become news worthy, I think that a dollar or two to the homeless man or woman we see every day on the corner might well be an extension to Mr. Feeney.

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FastEddy | Dec 20, 2011, 12:09 PM EST

Ditto That, Joycean: "It's an investment, giving that will result in a better America and world. ..."

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joycean | Dec 20, 2011, 11:39 AM EST

This isn't "charity" in the sense of giving to the poor. It's an investment, giving that will result in a better America and world. I think i't great, but Silicon Valley has had its East Coast for a long time, mainly in Massachusetts. Feeney is bringing it to New York.

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KittyMurphy | Dec 20, 2011, 11:01 AM EST

@RedBranch - If you would take a second to think / google you'd realize how wrong you are. Ireland is the 2nd most charitable country in the world. You blithering eejit. Google the survey released today.

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RedBranch | Dec 20, 2011, 10:14 AM EST

Why is philanthropy so common amongst wealthy Americans and so rare amongst their Irish counterparts?

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CitizenWhy | Dec 20, 2011, 09:58 AM EST

Wonderful. Perhaps this will be a beginning for NYC to be less dependent on finance/Wall St and a return to the glory days when thought and cultural leadership were what made New York great. That greatness included plenty of inexpensive housing for creative people and the working poor. P.S. This man has given a great deal of money for the education of poor city children.

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CitizenWhy | Dec 20, 2011, 09:52 AM EST

God bless the good of heart who know how important it is to contribute to the common good. In fact the greatest indignity heaped on the poor, after the denial of necessities, is denying them their chance to contribute to the common good.

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jfmcauliff | Dec 20, 2011, 09:43 AM EST

Hurrah for Chuck Feeney. He demonstrates what the purpose of great wealth should be, providing serious resources with a long term impact on the betterment of society and changing the parameters of unpopular "unsolvable" problems like peace in Ireland. Full disclosure, some years back we received a small grant from Atlantic Philanthropies. John McAuliff Fund for Reconciliation and Development

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proudirishlass | Dec 20, 2011, 09:40 AM EST

I must be missing some details. Can someone explain to me how ISRAELS involved in this project and how it benefits them?

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Sheilah | Dec 20, 2011, 09:34 AM EST

Strong belief that he was anonymous donor for renovation of St. Brigid's Church on LES of NYC.

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GeorgeDillon | Dec 20, 2011, 04:47 AM EST

casualMBA--You're very naive. If you look at what Feeney has given, a lot of it is to groups in Ireland which promote his weird ideology. Foremost among these are pro_Mass Immigration pressure groups, such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland. It's quite outrageous that an American billionaire uses his money to intervene in the internal social and political affairs of another country. Keep Feeney Out Of Ireland!

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casualMBA | Dec 20, 2011, 01:31 AM EST

"...hundreds of millions to Irish universities and charitable projects..." Long may he prosper!

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