Even those closest to a frugal, often scrappily dressed social worker had no idea he was quietly amassing a fortune in order to do something he had long planned – donate it to help children, to the tune of $11 million.
Appearances can be deceiving, especially when it came to Alan Naiman, a Washington state social worker who died from cancer this year at the age of 63. During his life, he had a reputation for being thrifty and frugal.
The Seattle man walked around with shoes patched up with duct tape. He drove beat-up rather than newer vehicles. When he took his friends out to lunch, it was at affordable fast food establishments.
He would even hang around the deli at closing time in order to pick up the best deals on food that needed to move before reaching its expiration date. Friends say he was thrilled when he finally was able to qualify for senior discounts.
Friends and acquaintances say that Naiman was mostly a loner. At the time of his death, he was unmarried and childless, although he loved children. He enjoyed solitude, and he spent his spare time working extra jobs that helped him to save money.
He rarely spent money on himself, and his friends say this had largely to do with how he viewed life as being unfair to the most vulnerable children.
Friends believe his outlook was most likely a product of his lifelong devotion to his older brother who had a developmental disability, though he rarely spoke of it. His brother died in 2013.
Naiman worked for the past two decades at the state Department of Social and Health Services in Washington, where he earned approximately $67,234 per year.
However, he sometimes worked as many as three jobs, and those side gigs helped him to save and invest. Through his investments, it is said that Naiman made millions. Additionally, he is said to have inherited millions from his parents as well.
Naiman willed his $11 million estate to a variety of beneficiaries, all of which were children’s charities that are focused on helping the poor, sick, disabled and abandoned.
Naiman left $2.5 million to the Pediatric Interim Care Center and left $900,000 to the Treehouse foster care organization, among other organizations.
