US Billionaire Gifts Students $1,000 Cash At Graduation Ceremony, Then Asks Them To Donate The Money

Students from the University of Massachusetts, in Boston, U.S., had their joy doubled at their graduation ceremony recently after a pleasant surprise came their way.

Before walking the stage last week, 2,000 undergraduate students learned that they would be receiving two envelopes containing a total of $1,000 cash, according to the university, as per CNN.

But The $1000-Gift Came With A Catch

However, the gift came with a catch.

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At the graduation ceremony, commencement speaker Robert Hale, who is a billionaire CEO, interrupted chancellor Marcelo Su¨¢rez-Orozco as he began announcing the distribution of diplomas, the ceremony¡¯s livestream showed. ¡°You guys have survived, you¡¯ve prospered, you are to be celebrated,¡± Hale said at UMass Boston¡¯s 55th undergraduate commencement.

Hale told students they¡¯d also be getting $1,000 cash each, which led to a roar of excited cheers and applause, the livestream shows.

¡°You¡¯ve overcome. It¡¯s not easy,¡± said Hale, whose commencement speech followed that of co-keynote speaker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. ¡°We¡¯re here and we are proud of you,¡± Hale said.

But the catch was that one envelope contained a $500 gift for each student, while the other held $500 for the students to gift someone ¡°or another organization who could use it more than you,¡± Hale explained.

¡°This is a celebration of all you¡¯ve done to be here,¡± he said.

Graduates Left Shocked

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UMass Boston graduate Wendy Humphreys told CNN she and several other graduates were shocked when Hale returned to the stage for the announcement.

¡°I looked at my friend and jokingly said, ¡®he¡¯s going to give us each $2,000 each,¡¯ but I was completely kidding,¡± Humphreys said. She was astounded to discover she wasn¡¯t completely wrong, she said.

¡°I can now scroll through GoFundMe and donate to causes that speak to me,¡± Humphreys, who majored in English, said of her plans for the gift portion of the cash. ¡°I care a lot about abortion access and LGBTQ rights, so I plan to donate to those causes.¡±

A friend of Humphreys, UMass Boston graduate Addie McElreath, 27, said she felt Hale likely introduced a new generation to the act of giving.

¡°A lot of college students probably never had the time, money or opportunity to donate or gift to others before now,¡± McElreath reportedly said. Her grandparents traveled from Maine to see her earn her bachelor¡¯s degree in English. ¡°I think that¡¯s going to open a lot of people¡¯s eyes to something I think is really important societally, which is just giving as much as you can,¡± McElreath said.

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Hale said he believes the graduates will put the funds to good use, he told CNN. ¡°We hope (they) take the money, give it to an individual or an organization and feel the joy, and I am telling you, it is intoxicating ¡­ and they will want to do it more frequently,¡± Hale said. ¡°It will become a trait that carries on for the rest of their lives,¡± he said.

Also Read: Bill Gates Vows To Donate All Wealth & Drop Off From Rich List

More About The Billionaire

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Robert Hale made the 2023 Forbes billionaires list with a net worth of around $5 billion, as per the report. Hale is the founder and CEO of communications services provider Granite Telecommunications, As per Forbes, billionaire Hale has personally donated over $280 million towards cancer research, educational institutions and other charitable causes.

Hale has previously extended his generosity to recent graduates. In 2021, he received a standing ovation at Quincy College¡¯s commencement in Quincy, Massachusetts, after gifting graduates with $1,000 each.

Also Read: The Story Of Japan's Richest Billionaire Tadashi Yanai

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