AMERICUS, Ga. — Millard Fuller, a millionaire entrepreneur who gave away his fortune to create Habitat for Humanity International in 1976, died Feb. 3 after a brief illness.
Fuller, 74, led the worldwide house-building ministry with his wife, Linda, for 29 years before both were fired in January 2005 following several months of conflict with their board of directors. Afterward Fuller formed a new organization, the Fuller Center for Housing.
Wealthy at age 29 as an entrepreneur and lawyer but with his marriage in a shambles, Fuller and his wife decided to begin anew, selling all they owned and giving it to the poor.
Under the tutelage of Koinonia founder Clarence Jordan, Fuller developed the idea of “partnership housing,” building homes with rural neighbors too poor to afford conventional loans.
Since then, thousands of people have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the most famous being former President Jimmy Carter.
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