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Japanese Man Gives Pile of Gold to City for Emergency Shelters
Some say the act was generous, but others question whether he should’ve established a trust rather than trust the city.
By Jay Andrew Allen
A man in his 70s in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, has given the city a sizable gift. However, some are questioning whether he should have been a little less trusting of the government body.
The unidentified man donated 20 gold bars, each one kilogram in size. At current market prices, the haul comes out to 330 million yen ($2.27M). The man told the city that he had accumulated the investment through many years of hard work.
The donor has expressed his desire that the money be used to improve emergency shelters in the city, starting with bathrooms. According to the city, he wants to ensure that facilities are accessible to the elderly and disabled.
The city can’t simply use the gift, however. Legally, it first has to pass a resolution to sell it on the gold market. It says that, once that’s done, it’ll use the gift as the man intended.
