--- title: HiddenCash Twitter Scavenger Hunt Free Money description: @Hiddencash has given away more than $5000 in San Francisco after dropping hints on Twitter -- and plans to give even more canonical: https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/ author: Anita Hamilton article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-27T15:32:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:10:01.990Z og:title: This Anonymous Real Estate Magnate Is Giving Away Cash on Twitter og:description: @Hiddencash has given away more than $5000 in San Francisco after dropping hints on Twitter -- and plans to give even more og:url: https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230e70681cb5ff37/698690ea1eebf7a0b83710c0/twitter-scavenger-hunt-forrest-hanson.jpg?branch=production&width=461&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 461 og:image:height: 259 og:image:alt: Twitter Scavenger Hunt Forrest Hanson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Anonymous Real Estate Magnate Is Giving Away Cash on Twitter twitter:description: @Hiddencash has given away more than $5000 in San Francisco after dropping hints on Twitter -- and plans to give even more twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230e70681cb5ff37/698690ea1eebf7a0b83710c0/twitter-scavenger-hunt-forrest-hanson.jpg?branch=production&width=461&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # An Anonymous Real Estate Magnate Is Giving Away Cash on Twitter > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) ## Anita Hamilton May 27, 2014 3:32 PM UTC  Forrest Hanson holds up the $100 in cash he found on San Francisco's Baker Beach over Memorial Day Weekend in an online scavenger hunt. Forrest Hanson holds up the $100 in cash he found on San Francisco's Baker Beach over Memorial Day Weekend in an online scavenger hunt. Courtesy Forrest Hanson by [Anita Hamilton](https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/) ## Anita Hamilton May 27, 2014 3:32 PM UTC Free money has never come this easy: [Alexzandra Etherton](https://twitter.com/nirvanazana/status/470602735750881280) found $68 in an envelope taped to a parking meter. [Matthew Burkert](https://twitter.com/nirvanazana/status/470602735750881280) found his stash hidden under a bulldozer. And [Forrest Hanson](https://twitter.com/gumplr/status/471040856481624064) nabbed $100 on San Francisco’s Baker Beach on Memorial Day, then paid it forward by giving it away to other passersby. Since last Thursday, an anonymous twitter user known only as [@HiddenCash](https://twitter.com/HiddenCash) has been giving away thousands of dollars in the city by the Bay to the delight of the dozens of people who followed HiddenCash’s clues on Twitter and found the coveted white envelopes. The hints aren’t terribly subtle — one that said the money was at a bar that Tony Hawk would love directed hunters to “The Ramp” (duh!) — and because there are so many people on the lookout, the prizes have been getting snapped up within minutes. Nobody knows exactly who HiddenCash is, but the anonymous philanthropist tells TIME in an email, “I have made my fortune in real estate, and have been able to accumulate multiple properties, whereas so many people can’t afford to buy a house or even a small condo in San Francisco. People who work just as hard or harder than me. So I wanted to give back … But I also wanted to do something that would give back in a fun way, and get people involved.” “My message for the ‘haves’ is to be a little more generous, and to give back more,” HiddenCash adds. “I know so many wealthy people who are selfish and greedy, and just want more, more, more. When is it enough? When will you be satisfied? Take a step back, relax, and give back a bit. Putting smiles on other people’s faces will put a smile on your face. Believe me.” HiddenCash’s advice for the rest of us is a bit more sobering, however: “If you are broke and struggling, please don’t look to @hiddencash or a lottery ticket to be your salvation … Relying on games of chance is probably the worst and least responsible thing you can do.” With more than 50,000 followers amassed in less than a week, now HiddenCash says it will go nationwide and tells TIME the plan is to give away a total of six figures. A new drop is promised in San Jose on Wednesday and its first in Los Angeles is slated for this weekend. Get ready for the stampede. [@HiddenCash](https://twitter.com/HiddenCash?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/NOnMap7CcX](http://t.co/NOnMap7CcX) — Richard Rodriguez (@pharoahwizard) [May 25, 2014](https://twitter.com/pharoahwizard/status/470594850958491648?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/"},"headline":"An Anonymous Real Estate Magnate Is Giving Away Cash on Twitter","datePublished":"2014-05-27T15:32:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:10:01.990Z","description":"@Hiddencash has given away more than $5000 in San Francisco after dropping hints on Twitter -- and plans to give even more","url":"https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Social Media","Money","twitter","San Francisco","cash"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230e70681cb5ff37/698690ea1eebf7a0b83710c0/twitter-scavenger-hunt-forrest-hanson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anita Hamilton","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/anita-hamilton/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt230e70681cb5ff37/698690ea1eebf7a0b83710c0/twitter-scavenger-hunt-forrest-hanson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Twitter Scavenger Hunt Forrest Hanson","caption":"Forrest Hanson holds up the $100 in cash he found on San Francisco's Baker Beach over Memorial Day Weekend in an online scavenger hunt.","creditText":"Courtesy Forrest Hanson","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/118882/twitter-scavenger-hunt-hidden-cash/","name":"An Anonymous Real Estate Magnate Is Giving Away Cash on Twitter"}}]}] ```