Coca-Cola Paid $3 Million to a Charedi Philanthropist—Here’s Why

A remarkable story was shared by Rabbi Ben Zion Cohen Gros Sene during his daily lecture. It involves a Charedi Jew who, in a surprising turn of events, paid $90,000 to remove an offensive billboard and received $3 million in return.

The story begins when a philanthropist visited a yeshiva in Los Angeles. After leaving the building, he noticed a billboard across the street displaying inappropriate images. He was deeply troubled that students, including young ones, would be exposed to this daily as they left the yeshiva.

Determined to do something about it, the philanthropist contacted the company that rented the billboard space. He offered to pay for the ad space to have the billboard removed. The representative from the company informed him that the space had already been rented.

However, the philanthropist was persistent. He offered to pay more than the standard rate. "Would you be willing to pay $1,000 a day?" the representative asked. The philanthropist agreed.

Less than an hour later, the company called him back with good news—the ad would be removed. The philanthropist had rented the space for 90 days, totaling $90,000.

The company then asked, "What would you like to advertise?" To their surprise, the philanthropist replied, "I don’t know."

A few days later, the representative reached out again, explaining that the ad space couldn't remain empty. "You need to put something up," they said.

With a moment of inspiration, the philanthropist decided to post a simple sign: "90 days left," followed by "89 days left," and so on. Every day, the sign would count down, creating mystery and intrigue.

Soon, curiosity grew. Residents in the area and media outlets started asking about the peculiar ad. However, the philanthropist kept quiet, maintaining that it was a surprise. The true goal was not to advertise a product but to prevent the display of inappropriate content.

As the 90-day rental period was nearing its end, the philanthropist received an unexpected phone call from Coca-Cola. They offered him a shocking deal: they wanted to buy the ad space for the 90th day for an extraordinary sum—$3 million.

In a surprising turn of events, the philanthropist’s simple but thoughtful act of protecting the students’ eyes had led to an unbelievable reward. Last Chanukah, he received $3 million from Coca-Cola, all thanks to his kindness and his concern for the holiness of Israel's scholars.