Actor Chow Yun-fat of the famous movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, revealed in a recent interview that he plans on donating his entire $714 million fortune to charity after he dies. Chow told Jayne Stars, “My dream is to be a happy and normal person. The hardest thing in life is not about how much money you earn, but how to keep a peaceful mindset and live the rest of your life in a simple and carefree manner.” Chow said that the money is not even technically his, but something that he is a custodian of during his lifetime.
“This money isn’t something you possess forever. When you’re gone one day, you have to leave it to others to use it. The money’s not mine. I’m only keeping it safe for the time being,” he said. Chow is known to live an extremely frugal lifestyle and claims to shop at thrift stores. “I don’t wear clothes for other people. As long as I think it’s comfortable, then it’s good enough for me,” the actor said.
“I am happy if there’s food to eat, because we were quite poor then. I’ll be very happy eating sweet potatoes and vegetables, and even happier if I have chicken and meat during the new year,” he added. Chow has also recently been censored by the Chinese government for his support of civil rights groups in Hong Kong. Though it does happen every now and then, it is rare for celebrities to hand over so much of their wealth.
Sam Simon, the writer and producer who helped create the legendary television show The Simpsons, left his entire $100 million fortune to charity after passing away from cancer in 2015. While Simon donated to many causes, animal rights was the single most important issue to the late writer and producer. “A lot of it is selfish, I get to watch these animals that have been in concrete bunkers their whole life, I get to watch them take their first steps on grass, I get to fly my friends out. They’re dependent on us for that, and so I feel that it’s my responsibility to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves,” he said. Simon founded the Sam Simon Foundation, an organization that specializes in helping service dogs.
More recently, details surfaced linking actor Keanu Reeves to a secret cancer foundation to fund children’s hospitals. “I have a private foundation that’s been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children’s hospitals and cancer research,” Keanu said in a Ladies Home Journal article from 2009.
It's always nice hearing stories like these. I didn't know that Chow Yun-fat was like that. I really like his outlook/mindset and living a simple life. I also like what he said about not possessing the money forever and only keeping it safe for the time being. That's pretty cool.
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