Benjamin Franklin left £2,000 to Boston and Philadelphia in his will, with the condition that they wait 100 years for part of the money, and then another 100 years for the rest. In 1990, the remainder of the bequest was worth $6.5 million, which was given to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. Franklin’s donation came from his earnings as governor of Pennsylvania. Franklin was also known for his inventions and his interest in technical education.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who can be patient can have what he wants.” While he wasn’t necessarily referring to anyone in particular with that quote, he could very well have had Boston and Philadelphia in mind.
In his will, Franklin bequeathed £2,000 to the two cities where he had spent most of his life, but with one significant condition: they had to wait 100 years for part of the money, and then another 100 years for the rest.
Thanks to the power of compound interest, the wait has been well worth it. In 1990, the remainder of Franklin’s bequest was worth $6.5 million. There was $4.5 million in the Boston trust and $2 million in the Philadelphia trust, largely due to differences in how the cities had handled their bequests.
In the decades following Franklin’s death in 1790, part of the initial donation was used to provide young merchants with loans to start their own businesses, fulfilling Franklin’s desire to use the money to help the apprentices. Franklin had begun his career as an apprentice in the printing industry. Part of the bequest also went towards various public works and infrastructure projects. For the record, Franklin’s donation came from his earnings as governor of Pennsylvania from 1785 to 1788.
In 1990, Massachusetts Attorney General James M. Shannon told the Orlando Sentinel that “it is a wonderful irony that 18th century money is available just when we need it for our problems today.”
Ultimately, the remainder of Franklin’s donation was given to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston, which continue to perpetuate Franklin’s interest in technical education and his desire to make it accessible to all. .
Ben Franklin Facts and Figures:
Franklin’s inventions include bifocal glasses, the lightning rod, the glass harmonica, and the so-called Franklin stove, which was more efficient than other stoves.
Franklin was such an avid swimmer and supporter of teaching swimming that he earned a place in the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He even invented a pair of hand-worn swim fins when he was just 11 years old.
Despite dropping out of school at the age of 10, Franklin ended up getting rich in part through his printing press and by publishing his Poor Richard’s Almanac.
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