11. George Carroll
Generosity of billionaires does not exist in our time only. It dates back to centuries before today. And this story will tell you exactly that.
George Carroll was born in 1855. He was in fact a nominee for Vice President of the United States from the Prohibition Party in 1904 election. Besides that, he was running an oil and lumber company in Texas.
He inherited the company from his father, but in 1892, he made the breakthrough investment in oil-drilling company. And that made him vastly rich. But in the other hand, that also made him realize that it influenced people toward a life of excess, and worse, vice.
That triggered him to make huge donations to local universities and Baptist churches, including Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). In 1935, Carroll died in peace inside a room of the YMCA building he founded. So, it was speculated that he had given away all of his money and lived a simple life until the day he died by the age of 80.
