Alan Feinstein
Encyclopedia
Alan Shawn Feinstein is an American
philanthropist
and former mail-order and Internet promoter
.
in 1931. He grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts
.
He graduated from Boston University
where he studied economics and journalism. After graduating, he wrote advertisements for a shoe company, but was unsatisfied with the experience. He attended Boston Teachers' College
at night and taught elementary and junior high school in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
He married Dr. Pratarnporn Chiemwichit, a child psychiatrist, in 1963 and moved to Rhode Island. As part of an extended trip to Thailand in 1965, Feinstein had a private audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The couple returned in 1966 and settled in Cranston, Rhode Island
, where they still live today.
He and his wife have three children, Ari, a salesman and entrepreneur in Washington DC; Leila, a television news anchor; and Richard, a writer, who died recently.
's 100th birthday issued by the South American nation of Guyana
in collaboration with Feinstein.
Feinstein also started a newspaper column which was widely syndicated. He wrote several self-published booklets: "How to Make Money," "How to Make Money Fast," etc. He also wrote a novel and several children's books which were published by A.S. Barnes/Yoseloff Publishing Company. In 1984, Prentice Hall
published The Four Treasures of Alan Shawn Feinstein, a book written by a New York author, Milton Pierce.
Much of Feinstein's wealth came from selling philatelic 'collectibles' through news letters independent of the stamp collector community under a business model in which purchasers had a one-year money back guarantee, including a "Face on Mars" stamp set issued by the African nation of Sierra Leone
promoted with a claim that the value of the stamps would soar once alien life was discovered on Mars, a claim which has garnered him criticism. Feinstein's stamps have been valued at prices lower than his newsletters predicted.
By 2008 over 125,000 children have been in his school program and are recognized as Feinstein Junior Scholars for promising to do good deeds for others.
He was heavily involved in founding the first public high school with community service as its central focus, the Feinstein High School in Providence, named in his honor.
Feinstein requires that institutions that he aids be renamed in either his honor or in the names of his family members, a practice that has sometimes resulted in controversy due to the source of his funds and also because of his purchases of time on local television stations advertising his donations.
The focus of Feinstein's community service efforts has been in helping raise funds to fight hunger, which has included the annual "Feinstein Challenge", initiated in 1996, which encourages local organizations to raise funds with a portion of the amounts raised by the organizations matched by the foundation with $1 million distributed annually. The Feinstein Challenges have raised over $1 billion for them to date.
The Feinstein Foundation and Feinstein Family Fund had about $43 million in assets in 2005.
Currently, Feinstein offers a payback program to Rhode Island students who join in supporting his campaign to fight hunger.
. A dispute between them developed and Feinstein sued Brown. In his lawsuit, Feinstein also accused Brown of defamation, a claim that was dismissed in May by U.S. District Court Judge William Smith.
traded Babe Ruth
to the New York Yankees
, thus initiating the "Curse of the Bambino
". In 2004, when the Red Sox won their first world series in over 80 years, Feinstein auctioned off this contract at Sotheby's
for $996,000, giving the proceeds to anti-hunger agencies around the country.
He recently purchased the contract that sent Ted Williams to the Red Sox in 1937. He plans to give the proceeds, when he resells it, to agencies fighting hunger.
Feinstein is the honorary chairman of the World Scholar Athlete Games. He gave $1 million to construct their Hall of Fame building.
, Salve Regina University
, Johnson & Wales University
, Roger Williams University
, Rhode Island College
, the University of Rhode Island
and the New England Institute of Technology
.
Several schools are named in his honor. The most recent, Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry (Formerly Knotty Oak) is named after him, after he donated 1 million dollars to the school, making community service a requisite there.
in 2003 to name the firm's IMAX theater at the Providence Place Mall in his honor. In exchange for a total of $1.4 million paid over five years, the theater would offer 50,000 free tickets to students participating in Feinstein's community service programs, offer discounted admission to students who have performed good deeds and donate a portion of these ticket sales to the Rhode Island Hunger Fund. The agreement was extended in 2005 with the stipulation that the naming rights would become permanent if all conditions were met. After the theater was purchased by National Amusements
in January 2008, Feinstein's name was removed and the community programs were suspended. Feinstein filed suit against IMAX and National Amusements, but National Amusements asserts that its deal to purchase the theater included the furniture and equipment, but no other obligations.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and former mail-order and Internet promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
.
Early years
Feinstein was born in Milton, MassachusettsMilton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
in 1931. He grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
.
He graduated from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
where he studied economics and journalism. After graduating, he wrote advertisements for a shoe company, but was unsatisfied with the experience. He attended Boston Teachers' College
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
at night and taught elementary and junior high school in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
He married Dr. Pratarnporn Chiemwichit, a child psychiatrist, in 1963 and moved to Rhode Island. As part of an extended trip to Thailand in 1965, Feinstein had a private audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The couple returned in 1966 and settled in Cranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
, where they still live today.
He and his wife have three children, Ari, a salesman and entrepreneur in Washington DC; Leila, a television news anchor; and Richard, a writer, who died recently.
Business
His booklet Making Your Money Grow was advertised in various publications and sold several hundred thousand copies. He built his newsletter and collectibles business buying mailing lists from brokers. He established two newsletters, International Insider's Report and The Wealth Maker which attracted circulation of 400,000. Feinstein offered collectibles, including coins and president autographs, as well as such items as a gold leaf-lined set of cards honoring Babe RuthBabe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's 100th birthday issued by the South American nation of Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
in collaboration with Feinstein.
Feinstein also started a newspaper column which was widely syndicated. He wrote several self-published booklets: "How to Make Money," "How to Make Money Fast," etc. He also wrote a novel and several children's books which were published by A.S. Barnes/Yoseloff Publishing Company. In 1984, Prentice Hall
Prentice Hall
Prentice Hall is a major educational publisher. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6-12 and higher-education market. Prentice Hall distributes its technical titles through the Safari...
published The Four Treasures of Alan Shawn Feinstein, a book written by a New York author, Milton Pierce.
Much of Feinstein's wealth came from selling philatelic 'collectibles' through news letters independent of the stamp collector community under a business model in which purchasers had a one-year money back guarantee, including a "Face on Mars" stamp set issued by the African nation of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
promoted with a claim that the value of the stamps would soar once alien life was discovered on Mars, a claim which has garnered him criticism. Feinstein's stamps have been valued at prices lower than his newsletters predicted.
Philanthropy and Controversy
Feinstein founded the Feinstein Foundation in 1991.By 2008 over 125,000 children have been in his school program and are recognized as Feinstein Junior Scholars for promising to do good deeds for others.
He was heavily involved in founding the first public high school with community service as its central focus, the Feinstein High School in Providence, named in his honor.
Feinstein requires that institutions that he aids be renamed in either his honor or in the names of his family members, a practice that has sometimes resulted in controversy due to the source of his funds and also because of his purchases of time on local television stations advertising his donations.
The focus of Feinstein's community service efforts has been in helping raise funds to fight hunger, which has included the annual "Feinstein Challenge", initiated in 1996, which encourages local organizations to raise funds with a portion of the amounts raised by the organizations matched by the foundation with $1 million distributed annually. The Feinstein Challenges have raised over $1 billion for them to date.
The Feinstein Foundation and Feinstein Family Fund had about $43 million in assets in 2005.
Currently, Feinstein offers a payback program to Rhode Island students who join in supporting his campaign to fight hunger.
Brandeis lawsuit
In the early 1990s, Feinstein collaborated with Brown University to found the Feinstein World Hunger Program, a university research and teaching center dedicated to studying the causes of and possible solutions to hunger, which later moved to Tufts University. In 2000, he entered into an agreement with a Tufts professor, J. Larry Brown, to give $3 million to start another similar center at Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
. A dispute between them developed and Feinstein sued Brown. In his lawsuit, Feinstein also accused Brown of defamation, a claim that was dismissed in May by U.S. District Court Judge William Smith.
Westerly controversy
Initially offering $1 million to Westerly Middle School in Westerly, RI, Feinstein withdrew because of a controversy in the community over his requirement that the school be renamed for him. Feinstein said "If it’s going to cause any friction whatsoever, I would rather withdraw the offer."Baseball contracts
In 1993, Feinstein spent $99,000 to purchase the contract by which the Boston Red SoxBoston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
traded Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
to the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, thus initiating the "Curse of the Bambino
Curse of the Bambino
The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004...
". In 2004, when the Red Sox won their first world series in over 80 years, Feinstein auctioned off this contract at Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
for $996,000, giving the proceeds to anti-hunger agencies around the country.
He recently purchased the contract that sent Ted Williams to the Red Sox in 1937. He plans to give the proceeds, when he resells it, to agencies fighting hunger.
Feinstein is the honorary chairman of the World Scholar Athlete Games. He gave $1 million to construct their Hall of Fame building.
Awards
He has received many awards for his philanthropy, including the Distinguished Services Award from the American History Society; the Longfellow Humanitarian Award from the American Red Cross; and was named Rhode Island Citizen of the Year by the March of Dimes. He was awarded the President's Medal at both Rhode Island College and Brown. He has been named to the Rhode Island Hall of Fame. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Providence CollegeProvidence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
, Salve Regina University
Salve Regina University
Salve Regina University is a university in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, the university is a Catholic, co-educational, private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of Rhode Island in 1934. In 1947 the university acquired Ochre Court and welcomed its first class...
, Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, is home to JWU's first and largest of four currently operating campuses. Founded as a business school in 1914, by...
, Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams...
, Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...
, the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
and the New England Institute of Technology
New England Institute of Technology
New England Institute of Technology is a private, accredited, non-profit technical college offering Associate’s and Bachelor’s of Science degrees in 31 programs generally geared toward persons already in the work force like some 3,000 such similar institutions in the United States. Established in...
.
Several schools are named in his honor. The most recent, Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry (Formerly Knotty Oak) is named after him, after he donated 1 million dollars to the school, making community service a requisite there.
IMAX lawsuit
Feinstein had signed an agreement with IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
in 2003 to name the firm's IMAX theater at the Providence Place Mall in his honor. In exchange for a total of $1.4 million paid over five years, the theater would offer 50,000 free tickets to students participating in Feinstein's community service programs, offer discounted admission to students who have performed good deeds and donate a portion of these ticket sales to the Rhode Island Hunger Fund. The agreement was extended in 2005 with the stipulation that the naming rights would become permanent if all conditions were met. After the theater was purchased by National Amusements
National Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
in January 2008, Feinstein's name was removed and the community programs were suspended. Feinstein filed suit against IMAX and National Amusements, but National Amusements asserts that its deal to purchase the theater included the furniture and equipment, but no other obligations.
Books by Alan Feinstein
- Triumph! (1960)
- Folk Tales from Siam (1969)
- Folk Tales from Persia (1971)
- Folk Tales from Portugal (1972)
- How to Make Money Fast (1975)