Many people talk about giving up the rat race, but few people actually do it. Austrian millionaire Karl Rabeder is one of those people, and he’s putting his money where his mouth is — by giving it all away.
According to the Daily Mail, the 47-year-old Rabeder, who became rich soon after founding his first company in 1986, plans to use the money from his household accessory business “to fund orphanages and other help-the-poor projects in South America.” That includes a greenhouse project that gives orphans agricultural training, as well as a loan to help them grow their own vegetables.
Rabeder’s business is worth approximately £2.7 million (about $4.2 million). He’s already gotten rid of his cars and plane and plans to raffle his luxury villa in Tyrol, Austria with an asking price of £1.3 million (about $2.0 million). All of the money raised in the raffle will go to MyMicroCredit.org, a foundation he started in 2009.
His much-simpler life now involves living in a two-room flat in Innsbruck and “surviving on the equivalent of £800 a month,” (about $1,250 a month). And why did he decide to do it? “My then-wife and I were on the plane together coming back from Hawaii and I realised [sic] that I was dying through consumerism.”
It’s a rather jarring conclusion to come by, but one that’s spurred someone with means to improve the lives of so many others without means. We here at Tonic salute Karl Rabeder for making that sacrifice for the greater good.
Photo courtesy of Will Spaetzel via Flickr