Jack MacDonald, a frugal Seattle lawyer who clipped coupons, rode the bus, and wore old sweaters, left a $187.6 million charitable trust to three organizations when he died at 98 in September 2013. His will revealed the fortune he had quietly built through decades of stock market investments, surprising many people who knew him as a modest man.
According to ABC News, MacDonald left the money to Seattle Children’s Research Institute, the University of Washington School of Law and The Salvation Army’s Northwest Division. The gift was announced in November 2013 and became one of the largest charitable donations in Washington state that year.
Despite his great wealth, MacDonald lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment and avoided spending money on things he did not need. He often visited grocery stores to find bargains, used coupons to save money and traveled by bus instead of taking a taxi.
His simple lifestyle hid a fortune that only a small circle of family members and friends knew about.
“Our family has lived with the ‘secret’ of Jack’s generous fortune for more than 40 years, all while being amazed at his frugal lifestyle and modest demeanor,” said his stepdaughter, Regen Dennis.
She added that MacDonald was an unusual but thoughtful man who stayed true to his beliefs about how money should be used.
“He was quirky and eccentric in many ways, and always stayed true to himself by acting on his convictions to do the most good with his wealth,” she told Fox News.
MacDonald spent nearly 30 years working as a lawyer for the Veterans Administration. He built his fortune by investing money he inherited from his parents, who had made money through their family meat business in Seattle.
MacDonald was born in British Columbia and grew up in Seattle. He later earned a law degree from the University of Washington in 1940 and spent much of his working life helping veterans through his legal career, according to The Seattle Times.
His parents left him money after they died. Instead of spending the inheritance, he invested it in the stock market over many years.
MacDonald took an active role in choosing his investments. He studied companies and decided which stocks to buy rather than leaving every decision to someone else.
“He was amazing,” Dennis said of his investment skills. “He didn’t trust a lot of other people to do his research; he directed what he wanted bought, and he really knew what he wanted.”
His careful approach helped turn his family inheritance into a fortune worth $187.6 million.
Yet his daily habits remained much the same.
MacDonald was known for wearing sweaters with holes in the elbows. He also searched for supermarket discounts and sometimes visited several stores to find the best prices.
One time, he bought so many cans of frozen orange juice during a sale that he had to find another freezer to store them.
Doug Picha, a longtime friend of MacDonald and president of the Seattle Children’s Foundation, remembered him as a shy and humble person.
“He was tall, very shy, very understated, humble. You would never have known that he had great wealth,” Picha said.
MacDonald also wanted to avoid people asking him for money simply because he was rich. According to Dennis, he sometimes went out of his way to make himself appear poor.
His modest habits continued even after he moved to Horizon House, a retirement community in Seattle. He kept up with the stock market, read financial publications, visited grocery stores and walked to his stockbroker to check on his accounts.
MacDonald married Mary Katherine Moore, a widow with two grown children, in 1971. The couple lived together until her death in 1999. MacDonald had no biological children of his own.
Although he kept his wealth private, he had already given money to many causes during his lifetime.
MacDonald chose three organizations that had personal meaning to him. His family said each gift reflected his connections, experiences and respect for his parents.
The largest share went to Seattle Children’s Research Institute, which received 40% of the trust’s income. The money was intended to support pediatric research, helping researchers study illnesses that affect children.
MacDonald’s mother, Katherine, had volunteered at Seattle Children’s Hospital and supported its work. Her connection to the hospital helped inspire her son’s decision to leave a large part of his fortune to the institution.
The gift was expected to provide about $3.75 million in income during its first year. At the time, hospital officials described it as the largest single gift in the United States dedicated to pediatric research.
The University of Washington School of Law was set to receive 30% of the trust’s income. The money would help fund student scholarships, general educational needs, and the creation of the Jack MacDonald Endowed Chair.
The remaining 30% was designated for The Salvation Army’s Northwest Division. The organization was expected to receive nearly $3 million in income during the first year.
MacDonald reportedly chose the charity because his father, Frederick, had worked closely with blue-collar workers.
The Salvation Army had not known MacDonald personally before the gift was announced.
“We didn’t know him, but he definitely knew us,” said Major Douglas Tollerud, the organization’s divisional commander for the area.
Beyond the three major gifts, MacDonald had also made smaller donations to hundreds of causes. One notable example was his support for Elora, a town in Ontario, Canada, where his grandfather had lived after moving from Scotland.
He gave about $150,000 to the town, including money that helped support local projects such as rebuilding the town hall and improving community facilities. The town later named its central square in his honor.
MacDonald’s charitable work was not limited to the money he left in his will. His lifetime donations showed that he had been supporting causes quietly for years.
In July 2013, MacDonald suffered a serious fall and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of a head injury. He died in September at age 98.
Even during his medical emergency, his concern about spending remained. Dennis recalled that he asked a neurosurgeon to use generic drugs instead of more expensive brand-name medicines.
Before his death, MacDonald had also discussed how he wanted people to remember him. A few years earlier, when he had experienced a health scare, he worked with Dennis to write his obituary.
Picha remembered asking about the kind of legacy MacDonald wanted to leave behind.
“He said, ‘a philanthropist,'” Picha recalled.
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