Gay 87 Yr Old Billionaire Jumped to His Death From His Building Off Central Pk

An 87-year-old multimillionaire who jumped to his death from his luxury apartment building on the edge of Central Park on Monday was described by neighbors as frugal despite his incredible generosity to charity. 

Robert Wilson committed suicide on Monday at The San Remo building on Central Park West in Manhattan. He had recently suffered a stroke and his health was failing.  

Friends said that Mr Wilson, who made almost a billion dollars from his hedge fund on Wall Street, was frugal - despite being so generous to environmental and educational causes. 

Planned: Robert W. Wilson deliberately gave hundreds of millions of dollars of his fortune away in the years before his death on Monday and told friends he wanted to have it all gone when he died

Neighbor David Tobey told the New York Post: 'Robert, for all his money, never took cabs, never took a limo. He always took the subway. 

'On the few occasions when he did grab a cab, he would usually share a cab with someone in the building. He shared a cab with my wife and insisted that she pay half.'

Robert Wilson had a personal fortune of about $800million - but the openly gay aetheist recently told friends he had given all but $100million to charity. 

He apparently could not give away the rest because it was tied up in long-term investments. 

He jumped from his 16th-floor apartment in the luxury San Remo building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Monday.

A police source told the Post that he had left a suicide note which read: 'I had a rewarding life. Thank you and goodbye to all my friends. Please make sure you cancel all my plans. Tell everyone what I did. I’m not ashamed of killing myself. Sell all my stuff.'

Friends saw signs that he may do something drastic as he suffered a debilitating stroke about a month ago and began unloading his fortune in droves.

The multi-millionaire did not have any children and his 35-year marriage ended well before his death.

Home: Wilson had owned his 16th floor apartment in the historic San Remo building since 1978 and he jumped off the balcony to his death on Monday

The paper reports that he has donated more than $100million a piece to four different charities: The Nature conservancy, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Monuments Fund.

‘He was the most committed person I have ever known,' World Monuments Fund president Bonnie Burnham said to The Post.

'More than his financial contributions, he brought an astute mind and sharp wit to the organization. He will be missed greatly and long remembered as a visionary donor.'

The idea of saving the environment was one that Wilson had spoken about previously, and in a 2011 interview, he told The Financial Times that much of the $600million he had given to charity at that point was directed towards those groups.

‘The idea of "But for my money, it would be gone forever" appeals,' he said then at the age of 84.

Another issue that appealed to him - and was close to his purse strings- was an investment in New York City's Catholic schools.

The felt that the tuition at the schools, which were going through financial issues, showed an immediate 'return' and he gave $20million to a fund earmarked for that cause.

‘I’m an atheist, but I think the schools are especially good,' he said to the Financial Times.

He was also proud of the apartment where he lived, making it less of a shock that he chose that as his final resting place.

He had owned the apartment since 1978 and his attention to detail and fine art collection has helped him decorate it and refurbish it so that his original price- $300,000- is just a fraction of what he estimated it's worth in 2011- $20million. 

Wilson is one of many millionaires who live in the building, as Bono, Tiger Woods, Steven Spielberg, Dodi Fayed and Bruce Willis have all had apartments in the building. 

The apartment has views of Central Park, and Wilson clearly relished looking out at the trees and the lake.

'Who needs a summer place? I've got one,' he said to the Financial Times reporter.

Source and pics:
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk