Wall Street Tycoon Gives Away $800 Million Before Jumping to Death
When Wall Streeters try and sweep away the atrocities of their industry they inevitably point to banks' charitable donations. Look, Goldman Sachs has given away $1.6 billion since 2006! Of course, Goldman had profits of $1.52 billion in just the third quarter of 2013 alone, and that was considered "concerning." So, sooner or later a bank executive is bound to trot out the story of Robert Wilson.
Earlier this week, the ex-hedge fund executive jumped from his 16th floor apartment in Manhattan's exclusive San Remo building and died at the age of 87. But — but! — before doing so he is said to have donated all of his $800 million fortune to charity. The last $100 million of his went to the Environmental Defense Fund, and Wilson reportedly gave another $100 million to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the World Monuments Fund, the Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society over the past few years.
Wilson, who had a history of charitable donations, recently suffered a stroke and reportedly told friends that he did not want to live through pain in his final days. He had told a confidant in the past year that he only had $100 million left to give away. Don't hold your breath waiting for his cohorts to do the same.
[photo via ABC]