The Secret of Success

“The secret of success is constancy of purpose,” stated former UK Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

Not only did this advice guide Dr. Martin “Marty” Meisenheimer IV (Medicine ’71) in his medical career, but it also shaped his approach to financial planning, causing him to read widely on the stock market, entitlements, and the history of retirement itself.

Realizing that others could benefit from his research, one of Marty’s first retirement projects was to use Disraeli’s quote as the epigraph to a 2011 monograph, Start Young, Retire Wealthy: An Action Plan for Young Professionals. This quick read of 55 pages provides digestible, practical, and immediately implementable advice.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, the oldest of eight children, Marty grew up with a sense of responsibility and hard work. Inspired toward a career in medicine by father and uncle who were both family practitioners. Marty completed a gastroenterology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and then embarked on a productive career in Indianapolis, Indiana.

While intentionally saving for retirement was a priority of Marty’s professional career, Marty and his wife, Jill, have not simply sought to see how much they could accumulate through careful savings and wise investments. Rather, generosity and strategic giving has been integral to their lives.

For almost all the 32 years since completing his fellowship, Marty has supported UofL’s School of Medicine, often through his donor-advised fund or, when he became eligible, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from his IRA. Several years ago, he made a special gift to enhance the experience of UofL’s Gastroenterology Fellows, and he also collaborated with classmate Dr. Lanny Copeland to encourage broad class participation establishing an endowed scholarship fund for the Class of 1971.

Now in their late 70s, Marty and Jill have entered another phase of financial planning. “Everyone needs to determine how much they want to leave their children,” Marty says, “and then the rest becomes available to make a difference in the world.”

In this regard, Marty and Jill have determined that a percentage of their residual estate will fund the Martin Meisenheimer Chair in Gastroenterology as well as the Martin and Jill Meisenheimer Scholarship Fund. In addition, in memory of Marty’s brother, through Indiana University Bloomington School of Public Health (Jill’s alma mater), Marty and Jill have created the Otto Meisenheimer Prevention of Gun Violence Research Fund and put a provision in their estate for the Otto Meisenheimer Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence.

To learn more about ways you can support UofL through a bequest or beneficiary designation, contact Kathryn J. Sides, M.A., CFRE, CAP® at (502) 852-5051 or plannedgifts@louisville.edu.