 He supported the ULB, the "Ecole des Mines" (School of Mining), and founded the "Institut commercial" (Commercial Institute) in Mons as well as the "Athénée du Centre" (Central Athenaeum) in Morlanwelz, an orphanage, a childcare facility, a maternity hospital, and some other institutions.He was also one of the financiers of the World Fair of Brussels (1897 and 1910) and of Charleroi (1911).He fell ill and died during World War I, in 1917.