<p>The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is the second largest charity in the country, behind the Gates Foundation.</p>
<p>It started as a tax dodge. Hughes created the charity in 1953, with himself as the sole trustee, and gave HMMI sole ownership of all shares in his Howard Hughes Aircraft Company. HMMI did little or no research.</p>
<p>After his death (and years of estate wrangling), HMMI sold the aircraft company to General Motors for $5 billion and had an instant endowment generating enormous amounts of money that had to be spent on science research.</p>
<p>Thank goodness for crazy guys, huh?</p>