Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Angelenos Are Doing Dumb Things Like Running Into Traffic For Hidden Cash

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.


The Hidden Cash benefactor left a few deposits in Burbank last night, which prompted people to go kind of crazy. The anonymous real estate millionaire started leaving envelopes of Hidden Cash around San Francisco before he came down to Los Angeles, making his first drop in Los Feliz on Wednesday. He uses the twitter account @hiddencash to tip hunters off as to the cash's location, and the crowds searching for $100 or $200 dollars have gotten increasingly frenzied.

By Thursday, he'd made it to Burbank, where massive crowds showed up to find the envelopes. People ran through traffic and swarmed bus stops. One woman, L.A. Times reports, abandoned her vehicle in the street to join the hunt.

The benefactor used his Twitter account to remind us to not be maniacs, reporting that one young woman had even run in front of his car:

Support for LAist comes from
There have been large crowds lately. Please walk and drive safely. A young woman ran right in front of my car a few days ago. I will do my best to pick locations that are safe, but please use common sense and caution. Please also be respectful to the locations themselves and surrounding businesses. And be kind and happy with each other, as that's what this is all about.

Despite the relatively minor frenzy, the mysterious benefactor has no plans of quitting, though he's through doing interviews for now.

Some Internet commenters have posited that perhaps the benefactor is lying about his altruistic goal of simply spreading the wealth. Perhaps he's conducting a social experiment. Perhaps he's trying to incite the darker parts of our nature, the way usually only Walmart on Black Friday can.

Wait. I've seen this movie before.

()


The benefactor is currently at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, but says he'll be in a different parts of L.A. tonight and this weekend. Safe hunting!

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist