SANDY WEILL, the former high-flying Citigroup chairman who was renowned for his love of private jets, has pledged to give away his estimated $1.4 billion ($760 million) personal fortune as part of a “deal with God”.
The 73-year-old, who rose from humble origins in Brooklyn to become one of the most successful executives of his era, says that he will spend his retirement disposing of his fortune to charity.
In an interview with Citigroup Pursuits, a magazine for the American bank’s private clients, he said: “Hopefully we’ll be as smart in how we give our money away as we turned out to be smart in making it.”
On the decision to give his fortune away, he said: “That’s the deal I’ve made with God. I hope that he gives us the time.”
He added that his autobiography would emphasise philanthropy as much as business and quoted his wife, Joanie, as saying: “Shrouds don’t have pockets.”
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Mr Weill is not the only billionaire turning his thoughts to philanthropy. Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, said last week that he planned to step back from day-to-day running of the software giant to concentrate on his $28.8 billion charitable foundation, which funds medical research and education.
Mr Weill admitted in the interview that he did hold talks last summer about launching a new private equity fund. He decided against the move after talking to Chuck Prince, chief executive of Citigroup, and other board members, some of whom cautioned that it could be seen as a competitive move.
“Turns out they did me a big favour,” he said. “ I’d be chasing my tail again. I would want to raise more money than anybody else raises and why do I have to do that again? There are a lot of good people in that business and there’s so much more need in the not-for-profit world.”
Mr Weill is involved with four not-for-profit organisations: Carnegie Hall, Weill Medical College, the National Academy Foundation and the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. The National Academy Foundation works in schools, helping to train students to work in financial services, IT and travel and tourism. Mr Weill has had a long involvement with the charity, but decided to give it $5 million after he found out that Mr Gates and his wife, Melinda, had offered to make their own $5 million donation.
When Mr Weill bade farewell to Citigroup in April, he was praised for his philanthropic work by Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, who said that he was “gifted by a vision of inclusion”. He retired with a $1 million-plus annual pension.
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THE GIFT OF PHILANTHROPY