Tycoon Robert Wilson gives away $800
million fortune before jumping to death He has since been praised as a 'legend' by
his peers, after pledging his entire worth to
charity before ending his life Hedge fund multi-millionaire Robert W. Wilson,
87, jumped from the 16th floor of his luxury San
Remo apartment building: a prestigious address
in New York’s Upper East Side By JENN SELBY Friday 27 December 2013 A renowned Wall Street tycoon gave away his
entire $800 million fortune before falling to his
death in a suicide jump this week. Hedge fund multi-millionaire Robert W. Wilson,
87, leapt from the 16th floor of his luxury San
Remo apartment building (pictured above), a
prestigious address in New York’s Upper East
Side which has been the residence of Steven
Spielberg, Demi Moore, Glenn Close, Dustin Hoffman, Bono, Steve Martin, Bruce Willis and
Steve Jobs in the past. According to the New York Police Department,
he left a note at the scene. He had suffered from
a stroke just a few months before. “He always said he didn’t want to suffer and when
the time came, he would be ready,” close friend
Stephen Viscusi told the New York Post. "His plan was to give all his money away. He told
me recently, 'I only have about $100 million to
go.'" He has since been praised as a "legend" by his
peers, after pledging his entire worth to charity
some years before he ended his life. He gave the last $100 million of his money to
not-for-profit environmental advocacy group the
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Fred Krupp, the president of the EDF, said of the
group’s biggest benefactor: "Robert W. Wilson
was a Wall Street legend who became a
prominent philanthropist. "Bob had a passion to get things done in the
world. Widely read and blessed with a keen
intellect, he had the ability to predict where the
world was going, a talent that informed his
investments and, in later years, his
philanthropy." Krupp went on to indicate that Wilson was
building up a hugely lucrative Wall Street
portfolio "with the aim of bestowing his fortune
during his lifetime". "Initially skeptical of the science of climate
change, he quickly came to regard it as a critical
challenge. He wanted carbon pollution cut in an
efficient and sensible way, knowing that for a
solution to be environmentally sustainable, it
must also be economically sustainable." "Bob helped EDF grow with a pivotal $100
million challenge grant that inspired scores of
others to increase their own giving," Krupp
continued. "I am personally grateful to Bob for
his leadership and support over many years." Other beneficiaries of Wilson’s money include
the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York,
the World Monuments Fund, the Nature
Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation
Society, each of which received $100 million
before Wilson passed away. "I realised that Catholic schools were closing all
over the country, and Bill Gates probably didn’t
have enough money to save them," Wilson told Bloomberg News in 2010 when asked about his decision to donate such a large sum to the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Wilson was married to his only wife Marilyn for
35 years before they divorced. He is survived by
his brother William, 88. He had no children.