Social Worker Led Frugal Life To Leave Nearly $11 Million To Children's Charities
"Friends remember Washington state social worker Alan Naiman as being frugal. He
wore old shoes held together with duct tape, bought his apparel at the grocery store, drove jalopies and ate at cheap restaurants. But when he died of cancer in January 2018, at age 63, the people around him learned that he had quietly saved millions for a higher cause."
"Naiman left most of his $11 million estate to organizations serving abandoned, impoverished, sick and disabled children."
"'He left it all to charities — mostly to kids, the section of society that couldn't really help themselves,' his friend Shashi Karan told NPR."
"Naiman had no spouse or biological children. But his elder brother, who was disabled and died in 2013, "kind of colored the way he looked at things," his friend Susan Madsen told The Associated Press."
"Before spending two decades at Washington's Department of Social and Health Services, where he reportedly earned about $67,200 a year, Naiman was a banker."
"'He made a career change into social services probably around the time he was fostering,' Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families spokeswoman Debra Johnson told NPR. A dedicated and valued employee, he shared fond memories of the children he fostered, she said."
"Despite living a modest life, he amassed a great deal of wealth by saving his work wages, taking on side jobs and inheriting millions from his parents."
"Before he was diagnosed with cancer, Naiman thought about taking more road trips or moving to a house with a view, Karan said. But those dreams receded after the diagnosis. Instead, he spent his time researching charities."