Obviously, this gentleman wasn't in it for the recognition. What a great legacy to leave!
An elderly Seattle man who lived a frugal lifestyle with holes in his clothes and coupons in his pockets has left behind a record-shattering $188 million in his will to three Washington institutions.
As many are now learning, 98-year-old Jack MacDonald was never poor but was in fact a secret millionaire.
"Jack went out of his way to look poor, partly because he didn't want to be badgered by people who wanted money," his stepdaughter Regen Dennis told the Seattle Times of the secret life-long philanthropist.MacDonald's astonishing donations following his death in September mark the largest philanthropic gift in Washington State this year, the Times reports. It's also the sixth-largest in the country for 2013 so far.
Though he had no children of his own, 40% of his charitable trust will go to Seattle Children's Research Institution — with about $3.75 million to be donated the first year.
Thirty percent will go to the Salvation Army and another 30% will go to the University of Washington School of Law, his 1940 alma mater
"He felt really good about what he was doing with his money," said Dennis, "and our family feels good about what he's doing with his money."
MacDonald married late in life to Mary Katherine Moore, a widow with two grown children. The couple is seen here at the Cape of Good Hope in 1984. He described her as the one who 'brightened his life with joy and adventure.'
