Billionaire gives $1,000 to each graduate of the University of Massachusetts

Billionaire philanthropist Rob Hale surprised more than 1,000 recent college graduates from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth campus, with envelopes stuffed with cash.

Sheltering under their umbrellas and raincoats during the rainy graduation ceremony, graduates shouted and applauded with an unmistakable gesture of surprise as Hale announced the gift. At that moment, security guards began taking bags full of cash from a truck to take them to the stage.

Hale told the students that each of them would receive $1,000. But with the condition that they had to donate half of that money.

Hale said the greatest joy he and his wife Karen have experienced throughout their lives has come from the act of giving.

“We want to give you two gifts. The first one is for you,” Hale told the students. “The second is the act of giving. These difficult times have highlighted the need to share, care and give. “Our community needs you and your generosity today more than ever.”

Hale, founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, has a net worth of $5.4 billion, according to Forbes. He owns a minority stake in the Boston Celtics.

It is the fourth year in a row that he has given a similar gift to a group of graduates. Last year it went to students at the University of Massachusetts, Boston campus, and previously to students at Roxbury Community College and Quincy College.

But students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus had no idea that Hale would be one of the speakers. Graduates who did not attend the ceremony did not receive money. Hale told students that his own path to success had been steep, after his previous company, Network Plus, filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

“Have you ever met someone who lost $1 billion?” Hale joked as he gave career advice to the graduates. “Maybe I’m the biggest loser you’ve ever met.”

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