The mysterious yet cheerful giver only known as "Tips for Jesus" gave yet another generous tip in New Orleans on Saturday.
A photo posted to the Tips for Jesus Instagram account on Sunday shows that the donor visited Galatoire's Restaurant and left a $10,000 tip on a $9,094.98 bill – a nearly 110 percent gratuity.
Tips for Jesus generally leaves anywhere from a $500 to $10,000 tip on his restaurant bills, no matter how small the total is. He sometimes rubberstamps the receipt with "#tipsforJesus," or a thumbs-up and "Tips for Jesus" message. Recently, the mystery giver has been writing "Boom" on the receipts along with "God bless."
Although the signatures on the receipts vary, Tips for Jesus tends to use an American Express credit card with the last four digits of 7005. It is possible that there is more than one person with access to the Amex card, or the user is an extremely frequent traveler who changes his signature to further impede identification.
Tips for Jesus' home base appears to be in the San Francisco area, and some servers and media outlets have identified him as former Paypal executive Jack Selby. One interviewer claimed to have spoken with Tips for Jesus in February, on the condition that the reporter maintain his anonymity.
In the interview, Tips for Jesus said the idea to document the tips came while he was at an Ann Arbor, Michigan bar with friends. They left a $3,000 tip on a $87.98 bill, and posted the proof to Instagram.
The account now has over 80,000 followers, many of whom vie for the mystery man to come to their restaurant or bar, or contact them directly. Others commend Tips for Jesus for his generosity, and criticize those who are asking for financial help.
"You shouldn't ask for blessings," one Instagram user wrote. "God will bless you on his time not yours."
Another person agreed, writing, "...just keep pushing on and when the time is right you will receive your blessing."
Others referenced James 4:2-3, which reads in part: "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (New International Version).
Tips for Jesus said that he is trying to encourage people to commit their own acts of kindness.
"It's just about helping people out," he told San Francisco Magazine. "It's not hard to give back."
