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‘Benny’ (after Benjamin Franklin whose face graces the $100 bill) is the name they’ve given the secret philanthropist. Benny has been randomly and secretly hiding $100 bills in Salem, Oregon for the last three years. He tends to spread the cheer in various places like stores, markets, festivals etc. It’s said that he’s left around $51,000 in $100 bills.
Since some people started copying his style, he made sure to sign the bills. Nobody knows why Benny does what he does.
According to USA Today:
"Those who find one all have a similar tale, about being shocked when a $100 bill falls out of the packaging of something they just purchased. Bills have been found in everything from breakfast cereals to frozen entrees, and from mouse traps to feminine hygiene products. Sometimes they are not discovered until days or weeks later when retrieving something out of the pantry or cabinet.
"Benny bills, usually neatly folded in fourths and signed on the right edge front or back, have come to symbolize generosity and good will. From them a new Salem slang has evolved.
"To get Benny-ed is to find one of these $100 bills and be given hope or inspiration.
The finders are Benny-ficiaries.
Non-profits and causes are Benny-fitting.
It is remarkable how these bills always seem to wind up in the right hands, of those who really need the money and those who know just the right cause to give it to.
"They have helped people pay their electric bill, make their rent, buy their prescription medication, and even provide them shelter for a couple of nights. But the real magic of Benny has been the pay-it-forward spirit he has inspired in the community.
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