Imagine a man who starts a business with his wife, in a kitchen, grows it into a multibillion dollar enterprise, and then gives away billions to create a 550-staffer institute to fight cancer.

That's what James Stowers, founder of American Century did during the course of a nearly 60-year career with his firm, along with his wife Virginia.

Stowers, who passed away at age 90 last week, suffered through a bout of cancer, as did his wife, some twenty years ago. In gratitude for all the help they received, the couple then donated roughly $2 billion over the years to found the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which boasts a campus and 20 independent research programs as well as 550 researchers and support staff, according to the Kansas City Star.

He did a lot more too. To get a full understanding of the range of all he did, read the New York Times; Washington Post; Bloomberg; MarketWatch and Reuters, among others.

After this, there is really not much else to say, except "Wow!" and maybe this question:

What kind of legacy are you going to leave? 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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