Self-made millionaire made fortune through hard work and wise investing, and maintained a simple life while giving to help others

(Buffalo, NY) A self-made millionaire and former Broadway Market vendor whose anonymous donations defined the essence of selfless giving, has died following a long illness, after positively impacting the lives of thousands of Western New Yorkers.

Mr. Waldemar Kaminski, age 88, was perhaps Buffalo’s original "angel investor," being guided by a very special spirit of philanthropy to make the world a better place through gifts totaling many millions to a number of non-profit organizations in the Buffalo community. His gifts included over $2 million recently to Roswell Park Cancer Institute alone – with a $1 million gift to create an Endowed Chair in Pediatrics, and another $1 million for the WJK Park, a stunning 2-acre park in the middle of the Roswell Park campus.

Other area charities benefiting from his generosity were the Father Baker Home, the Salvation Army, Camp Good Days and Special Times and Hilbert College.

Always maintaining anonymity, Mr. Kaminski, a self-made millionaire by his own personal research through life-long intelligent and careful stock market investing, gave away most of his fortune to those who were ill or in need. 

In making his million dollar bequest to endow the chair of Pediatrics at Roswell Park, Mr. Kaminski’s generosity paid tribute to his lifelong wishes to help children who are ill, and the gift will continue to provide critically important funding which will enhance the patient care experience for all children with cancer undergoing treatment at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Born on July 23, 1917, Mr. Kaminski moved with his family to the Buffalo area in 1927 where they maintained a small grocery store in the Broadway neighborhood.   Mr. Kaminski began his own career with two vending stalls in the Broadway Market, at times working up to 18 hours per day, beginning at age 17.

Despite the fact that he was a high school honors graduate, Mr. Kaminski made his own personal sacrifices, declining a college scholarship to contribute to his family’s finances and to help his brother, the late Chester Kaminski, M.D. graduate from the University of Buffalo Medical School.

Mr. Kaminski was proud to have served his country during World War II, and during his five years, from 1941 to 1946 as a First Sergeant in the US Army he trained over 1,200 men.

In talking about his philanthropy, Mr. Kaminski liked to pull out a newspaper clipping which he kept in his wallet which was a quotation from Dale Carnegie, which said, in effect that if a man dies rich, he has not been successful – the man should have, according to Kaminski, shared his wealth during his lifetime to help others.

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