Analysis/Comment
Feargal Quinn has opportunity to set an example of philanthropy in an Ireland of super-rich
By Michael Hennigan
Jan 10, 2005, 20:31

Senator Feargal Quinn and his family have made an estimated €400

Feargal Quinn (b.1936) opened his first store in 1960. Superquinn has a turnover of about €650m, equivalent to 9% of the Irish grocery market

Ida Tarbell, the renowned author of The History of the Standard Oil Company, used the quotation below from Machiavelli in a 1906 character study of famed robber baron John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), which was published in McClure’s Magazine.

"A prince should earnestly endeavor to gain the reputation of kindness, clemency, piety, justice, and fidelity to his engagements. He ought to possess all these good qualities BUT STILL RETAIN SUCH POWER OVER HIMSELF AS TO DISPLAY THEIR OPPOSITES WHENEVER IT MAY BE EXPEDIENT. . . He should make it a rule, above all things, never to utter anything which does not breathe of kindness, justice, good faith, and piety; this last quality it is most important for him to appear to possess as men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes but few have the gift of penetration. Every one sees your exterior, but few can discern what you have in your heart." — Machiavelli — The Prince. Chap. xviii.

Rockefeller and fellow robber baron Andrew Carnegie who were both ruthless businessmen, became noted philanthropists.

Andrew Carnegie, a native of Scotland, who became known as the King of Steel in the US, funded 80 public libraries in Ireland, in the early 20th century. 

The tradition of philanthropy is still very much an American one. For example the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of $27 billion and has disbursed more than $8bn since its foundation. It has allocated a lot of resources to immunization programmes in developing countries. Last year, Joan Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonalds, left $1.5bn to the Salvation Army in the US. In 2002, Poetry Magazine received $100m from Ruth Lilly, the heir to to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune.

The range of motivations for such gift giving is inevitably wide. However, much good undoubtedly comes from it.

In Europe, the concern of the wealthy tends to be the endowment of their own families rather than worrying about the greater good.

There are 15,000 millionaires in Ireland today and the top 100 most wealthy Irish individuals have a combined value of €25 billion.

Over the past decade, Tony O’Reilly, Michael Smurfit and Lochlainn Quinn have made donations to educational institutions such as UCD and TCD. In recent years, tax-exile JP McManus has been associated with donations in the Limerick area. However, the rich Irish are not known for philanthropy.

Feargal Quinn and his family will net about €320m, after payment of 20% capital gains tax. They have the opportunity to set a significant example while still living a life without any financial worry.

An amount of €80m would be equivalent to the additional capital gains tax, which would have been payable prior to the reduction in the rate from 40% to 20% by the former Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy.

Philanthropy should not be viewed as a substitute for the State’s obligations but whether at home or overseas, there will never be a shortage of worthwhile causes.