Seattle, Washington - Jack McDonald lived a very simple life of coupon clipping, riding public transportation, and wearing sweaters that were well worn out. He lived out his final years in a retirement home following the death of his wife and at age 98 he himself passed away. People knew him as a frugal man. Now, the truth has emerged that he was very wealthy and sat on an estate worth $187.6 million.

McDonald was born in the province of British Columbia. He later moved to Seattle to practice law and worked 30 years for the Veterans Administration as an attorney. His fortune has now been bequeathed to institutions that were near and dear to him.

He donated 40% of his estate to the Seattle Children’s Research Institute which is the single biggest donation that organization has ever received. It is also the single biggest donation to pediatric research in US history.

“I thought of him in many ways as a gentle giant,” said Doug Picha, president of the Seattle Children’s Foundation, who was a friend of MacDonald’s for 30 years. “He was tall, very shy, very understated, humble. You would never have known that he had great wealth.”

While McDonald never had children of his own, he grew very fond of them after marrying his wife when he was well into his 50s. He also donated money to the Salvation Army and the University of Washington School of Law. His money was inherited from the wealth his parent's meat packing company had made.

On the Web:
Widower, 98, who always rode the bus and clipped coupons leaves secret $188MILLION fortune to charity
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515017/Attorney-Jack-MacDonald-leaves-secret-fortune-188m-charity.html