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Diz-se que o filantropo abdicou de tudo quanto tinha.

Diz-se que o filantropo abdicou de tudo quanto tinha.
They say that the philanthropist gave up everything that he had.
From Lesson 337:Expressions of complete quantity (tudo quanto, todos quantos)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Diz-se que o filantropo abdicou de tudo quanto tinha.

Could I use tudo o que instead of tudo quanto in this sentence?
Yes, you can! Tudo quanto means the exact same thing as tudo o que (everything that). Tudo quanto is just a slightly more elevated or literary way to express quantity, which fits nicely with a formal word like filantropo.
Why is there a de after abdicou?
The verb abdicar (to give up or abdicate) requires the preposition de when you specify what is being given up. Because of this rule, giving up everything becomes abdicar de tudo.
Why use Diz-se instead of Dizem to mean 'They say'?
Both are correct! Diz-se uses the impersonal se to mean 'It is said', which we naturally translate as the general 'They say' in English. Dizem is also very common for this, but Diz-se sounds a bit more formal, matching the tone of this sentence.
Why use the imperfect tense tinha instead of the past perfect teve?
The imperfect tense tinha is used here because possessing the wealth was an ongoing, continuous state in the background. If you used the past perfect teve, it would sound like a single, isolated event of receiving or holding something, which does not fit the context of an accumulated fortune.

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