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Graduates of the University of Massachusetts at Boston received a welcome surprise from their commencement speaker: $1,000 cash each.
Rob Hale, co-owner of the Boston Celtics and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, based in nearby Quincy, Mass., asked the students to keep $500 for themselves and give the other half to someone else, according to The Patriot Ledger. As they crossed the stage, students received the money packaged into two envelopes of $500 each.
“These are turbulent times. You guys have survived, you have prospered, you are to be celebrated,” Hale told the graduates.
This is the third year that Hale, who on Friday was listed as the 550th richest person on earth, according to a list of billionaires that Forbes magazine updates daily, has donated directly to students after speaking at their graduation. He also gifted cash to the graduates of Quincy College in 2021 and Roxbury Community College in 2022.
