WAUWATOSA — There's a guy giving away free money in Milwaukee every week. Seriously, and there's no catch.
It's called Find The Cash MKE. Each week, Ben Adebiyi hides anywhere from $25-$100 seomwhere around the Milwaukee area. He films a video, posts it on social media, and then waits for his followers to find it. He started doing this in March 2025, and he has given away nearly $3,000.
"I saw people struggling, and it's not easy to, you know, see some cash like that. So I'm in the position a little bit to help in my way. So I try to show love, try to give back to the community," Adebiyi said.
He moved to Milwaukee from Nigeria about eight years ago. Even though he said it took a while to get accustomed to the cold, he fell in love with the city and its people. This is his way of giving back to the community. While he could donate to a non-profit, he chose to give to people directly.
"What I'm doing is easy cash right there. Like if I post it, if you have to guess it, you get the money real quick without no signing the document or none of that," he said.
Adebiyi and his wife are raising a young daughter. Some would think they would be saving all the money for childcare and future expenses. However, for their family, they believe that if they have the means to give, they should.
"Yeah, my wife is in support of everything I'm doing because we come from the same ground, so she likes to give back too," he said.
As it gets colder outside, Adebiyi has shifted his donation method a bit. Rather than hiding cash outside, he posts a video or picture of money to social media, asking people to guess the amount. Whoever guesses closest gets $25 or $50. If there is a tie, those individuals will all get a donation from Adebiyi. He sends the money via Cash App.
The change was motivated by a pregnant woman and her child searching for the hidden cash in the cold.
"I saw the lady. She's pregnant. She had a baby, too. She had a little girl, and I saw it. Like, me I'm cold outside trying to film them, and she should be cold too. Then I say, 'no I'm not going to do this on the street anymore since it's cold,'" Adebiyi said.
Watch the story to see where Adebiyi has hidden cash around Milwaukee...
While he might be giving away his money for free, it's not like he is flushed with cash. This is just his way of helping out his community.
"It's not that I got some money like that to throw around. It's just I have to show love. I have a job. I do my day-to-day job, but I have a business, which is a vending machine business, and I sell cars back home to Africa."
As far as how long this will continue, there is no end in sight.
"Man, I'm still doing this as long as people in my community are happy with what I'm doing. I'm still doing it for a long time."
Really, when it comes down to it, the dude's just got a big heart and big love for Milwaukee.
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