When people think of Benjamin Franklin, they think many things: inventor, diplomat, writer, founding father, politician, etc. etc. etc. But would you have ever thought he was a philanthropist for the future?
Back in the 1700's, Benjamin Franklin published 'Poor Richard's Almanac' which promoted frugal behavior and a way of life that pushed a cheaper way of living. Charles-Joseph Mathon de la Cour, a French mathematician, published a parody of Franklin's classic almanac, and he called it 'Fortunate Richard'. It was the opposite of Franklin's in just about every way by promoting living beyond one's means. In this parody, Fortunate Richard left some money in his will to be used only after 500 years.
Franklin, being the humorous man that he was, chose to do a similar thing. He left 1000 pounds in British money (over $4000 at the time) to both Boston and to Philadelphia. The rule was that it was to accrue interest for 200 years and to be applied to young men of under 26 to help get their businesses started. About 100 years after his death, each city skimmed a little of the accounts, but let most of the money stay. From 1940-90, the Philadelphia fund was loaned to hundreds of individuals, mostly for their mortgages. The remaining amount (which was about $2,000,000) was given as scholarships to high school students. The Boston fund used some of the funds after 100 years to set up the Franklin Institute of Boston. When the fund matured, the rest of the fund (of the $5,000,000 that had accumulated) was used to support the school.
For someone who was known as a writer, statesman, politician, diplomat, inventor, scientist, etc., who knew he was such a generous fellow?
Bet you didn't know that!
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