Miliardarul Robert Hale le-a oferit absolvenților 1,000 de dolari numerar în plicuri la ceremonie

Topline

Billionaire Robert Hale doled out millions of dollars Thursday to 2,500 graduates at the University of Massachusetts, Boston — giving each one $1,000 in cash as they accepted their diplomas—the latest billionaire donation for students, as the price of tuition skyrockets.

Fapte-cheie

Hale, the commencement speaker at UMass Boston, gave students two envelopes that each contained $500, the Boston Globe raportate.

The billionaire co-founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications told seniors to keep one of the envelopes for themselves, and donate the other to a charity of their choice, calling it a “gift of giving”—though whether they donate the money is up to them.

For Hale, the sudden loss of $2.5 million only represents a drop in the bucket of his $5 billion net worth, according to Forbes’ valuation.

It’s also his second time giving college graduates cash: Hale in 2021 handed $1,000 to all 270 graduating students who attended their commencement address at Quincy College, several miles outside Boston.

Numărul mare

$15,535. That’s how much in-state students pay per year in tuition and mandatory fees at UMass Boston, a predominantly commuter school, according to the school’s bursar’s office. For out-of-state students, one year at UMass Boston costs $37,211, just below the average price of tuition at a private college in the U.S. ($37,600, according to the National Center for Education Statistics), and well below the price of Columbia University, the school with the most expensive college tuition in the country ($69,986).

Tangentă

Though billionaires often give massive donations to colleges and universities—and gain recognition in the process by having a school building or department named for them—direct cash donations for students is much more rare. In 2019, billionaire Robert Smith told all 396 graduating seniors at Morehouse College, a historically Black college in Atlanta, he would personally pay off their remaining student debt, spending $34 million to do so.

Știri Peg

Hale’s donation comes nearly a year after President Joe Biden issued an executive order to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt relief—following through on a campaign promise and key progressive demand, though the order was immediately criticized by conservatives and some Democrats who argued the plan would contribute to rising inflation. On Wednesday, the GOP-led House passed a bill to repeal the plan—which has also been challenged in the courts and awaits a ruling at the Supreme Court—and restart federal student loan payments.

Lecturi suplimentare

UMass Boston grads receive $1,000 from Quincy-based billionaire Rob Hale (Boston Globe)

Why A Billionaire Telecom Executive Gave $1,000 In Cash To Quincy College Grads (Forbes)

Billionaire Robert Smith Pays Student Loans For Morehouse Parents (Forbes)