Sunday, 1 December 2013

Tấm Lòng Vàng của Ông Jack MacDonald

Widower, 98, who always rode the bus and clipped coupons leaves secret $188 MILLION fortune to charity

Jack MacDonald gave the impression he was poor - but he had inherited a secret fortune from his parents and bought good stocks
His wealth is now going to Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington's School of Law and the Salvation Army
It is the biggest philanthropic gift in Washington state this year
He passed away in September, aged 98, after a fall in July

Generous: Jack MacDonald has left $187m to charities - despite giving the impression he was poor

A Seattle attorney who wore sweaters with holes in, collected coupons and rode the bus to work has left a staggering $187.6 million to charities after passing away.

Jack MacDonald, who had lived in a retirement community in the city for nearly 20 years, led people to believe he was poor despite his secret inherited fortune.

When he passed away in September after suffering a fall in July, he left a charitable trust to Seattle Children’s Research Institute, the University of Washington School of Law and the Salvation Army.

The donation is the largest philanthropic gift in Washington state this year, and the sixth-largest in the country in 2013, Children's officials told the Seattle Times.

He was born in British Columbia and grew up in Seattle, where he worked as an attorney for the Veterans Administration for three decades.

And even though 40 per cent of his fortune went towards children's research - and is the biggest donation ever given in the U.S. for pediatric research - he didn't have any children of his own.

He married wife Mary, a widow who already had two grown children of her own, in 1971, when he was in his 50s.

Relatives said she opened his eyes to what they could do, and together they traveled throughout Europe and Australia, Canada and Africa. But apart from these trips, they were happy to live simply.

'They were happy the way they were,' Mary's daughter, Regan Dennis, said. 'They were very comfortable, and they had a beautiful garden.'

Together: MacDonald is pictured with his wife Mary in 1984. They enjoyed traveling together but lived a largely humble life and moved into a retirement community in Seattle in the 1990s

His wealth was inherited from his parents, who owned MacDonald Meat Co. in Seattle, and he sought to boost the funds by investing their money.

His stepdaughter, Regan Dennis, said he was amazing at knowing where to put his money.

'He didn’t trust a lot of other people to do his research,' she said. 'He directed what he wanted [to be] bought, and he really knew what he wanted.'

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In the years before his death, he gave smaller donations, such as $536,000 to Children’s, where his mother had previously been a longtime fundraiser.

'I thought of him in many ways as a gentle giant,' Doug Picha, president of the Seattle Children’s Foundation who had known MacDonald for 30 years, told the Times. 'He was tall, very shy, very understated, humble. You would never have known that he had great wealth.'

Benefactors: Forty per cent of his trust will go towards the Seattle Children's Hospital, where his mother had been a fundraiser. It is the biggest donation for pediatric research in the U.S. ever

Alma Mater: The University of Washington School of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1940, is also named in the trust. His donation is the biggest the law school has ever received

Picha would visit MacDonald and his wife at their retirement community home after they moved there in 1997. Mary died two years later, and MacDonald focused on his stocks - and wearing holey sweaters so no one would know about his wealth, his step-daughter said.

Every day, he worked out, visited the grocery store and walked to his stockbroker to check on his accounts, Picha told the Times. He also visited the hospital to listen to the children's stories.

Over the years, he also sent $150,000 to Elora in Canada, where his parents were buried. This donation helped with town projects, such as building an ice rink and the town hall.

After the donation, the town's central square was named in his honor. He has been buried there with his parents.

He also knew he wanted money to go to the law school in Washington after his death, as it was where he had earned his degree in 1940. It is the largest gift the law school has ever had.

Humble home: He spent his last two decades at Horizon House, a retirement complex in Seattle

The trust will now support student scholarships and other education needs at the school.

The remaining 30 per cent of the trust's income will support The Salvation Army Northwest Division, which MacDonald wanted to support as his father had worked with blue-collar workers.

Officials said it was a surprise to them, explaining a statement: 'We didn’t know him, but he definitely knew us.'

In July, MacDonald fell and was rushed to hospital for treatment for a head injury - and even when he was there he said he didn't 'want those expensive brand-name drugs'.

Dennis said her step-father had told her that he wanted to be remembered as a philanthropist.

'He felt really good about what he was doing with his money,' Dennis said, 'and our family feels good about what he’s doing with his money.'