
A 20-year-old college student has decided to pay it forward after receiving huge returns on his GameStop stock last week.
Hunter Kahn, who is a mechanical engineering student at Cornell University says after participating in the Reddit Wall Street movement to take back stocks being undercut by hedge funds, he was able to cash out $30,000 on his GameStop stock. Instead of keeping all of the money for himself, Khan says he then decided to purchase a few game consoles, games, and other items to donate to the Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis.
Khan then took to Instagram to inspire others who have also profited from the recent events to give back as well:
“As a beneficiary of the recent events on Wall Street I think it is important that myself and others pay forward our good fortune, ” Khan wrote. ” These events have highlighted a lot of corruption and with this transfer of power it is important that we don’t become men in suits ourselves.”
The Children’s Minnesota Hospital says Khan’s gifts will benefit and bring joy to many of the children at their hospitals:
“We’re so grateful for this generous donation that will help bring joy to kids at our hospitals, especially during these challenging times,” Jennifer Soderholm President of the Children’s Minnesota Foundation, said in an email to CNN. “It’s inspiring to see young people in our community choosing to give back and pay it forward.”
In all, Khan donated two Nintendo Switches, six Nintendo Switch Lites, multiple games, screen protectors, cases, and e-shop gift cards for the tune of $2,000.
He says that the movement would be pointless if they don’t give back:
“If we’re criticizing these people on Wall Street and moving the money from one side to the other, it would be meaningless if we behave exactly like these people that we were criticizing,” Khan said.
GameStop’s shares have jumped more than 1600% in January mostly due to a group of Reddit users who started a movement to buy stocks that have been shorted by short sellers and hedge funds.