Billionaire rains cash on UMass graduates to tune of $1,000 each, but says they must give half away

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — Billionaire philanthropist Rob Hale has surprised the graduating class at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by giving each of them $1,000. But there was a condition: They were to keep $500 and give away the rest. Students huddling under ponchos and umbrellas yelled and cheered as Hale made the announcement at their soggy commencement ceremony last week. Security guards then lugged duffel bags filled with the cash onto the stage. Hale said the greatest joy he and his wife Karen had experienced had come from the act of giving. It’s the fourth year in a row that Hale has given a similar gift to a group of graduating students.