- Detroit-based CEO and philanthropist Bill Pulte has gained media attention in recent months for using Twitter to offer money to “people who need necessities, food, rent, a/c.”
- According to his Twitter bio, he has donated funds to people in various types of need.
- Pulte is now offering a $10,000 reward for information on a missing veteran, he tweeted Friday.
- The missing veteran, 37-year-old Jesse Conger, disappeared from Scottsdale, Arizona on August 14 without his wallet, phone, or service dog, according to the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
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Bill Pulte, a Michigan-based CEO, has gained a following on Twitter for doing what he calls “Twitter philanthropy” – offering to invest $5,000 in a small business pitched to him online, buy a new car for someone who retweets him, or purchase groceries for strangers who ask online.
Now, Pulte is offering a reward to help the family and friends of a missing veteran get information on his whereabouts.
“$10K DOLLAR REWARD,” Pulte tweeted on August 24 alongside a missing person poster. “I am offering $10,000 REWARD to the person who finds Missing Combat Veteran Jesse near LEES FERRY, AZ. Trail Heads, Vistas and Look Out Points. Bring our brother-in-arms home!”
$10K DOLLAR REWARD
I am offering $10,000 REWARD to the person who finds Missing Combat Veteran Jesse near LEES FERRY, AZ. Trail Heads, Vistas and Look Out Points. Bring our brother-in-arms home! ❤️🇺🇸@codeofvets @fox10PhotoChief @FOX10Phoenix @news5wcyb @nbc10 @abc15 @KOLDNews pic.twitter.com/gCR57FfJEt
— Pulte (@pulte) August 24, 2019
Conger went missing from Scottsdale, Arizona on August 14, according to the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Conger is without his wallet, cell phone, and service dog and suffers from PTSD.
Pulte, 31, was inspired to start giving away money on Twitter by Andrew Yang's proposal for Universal Basic Income, according to The Detroit News. In his Twitter bio, he says he has donated funds to "people who need necessities, food, rent, a/c etc."
The reward isn't the first time Pulte has offered to help a veteran. In July, Pulte said he would give $30,000 to a veteran in need if President Trump retweeted him. Trump did, writing "THANK YOU BILL!"
"You're welcome Mr. President. I look forward to catching up with you soon," Pulte replied. Pulte later shared a photo with a woman who he said was the recipient of the $30,000 gift. Business Insider reached out to Pulte and to an organization that also worked with the veteran, Code of Vets, to verify the size of the donation, but did not receive a response.
Pulte is the CEO of private equity firm Pulte Capital Partners, according to The Detroit News. He sits on the board of the real estate developer Pulte Homes, which was founded by his grandfather, billionaire home developer William Pulte. The Pulte Group is the largest homebuilder in America, Forbes reported in 2014. At the time, the company had $30 million in revenues and 200 employees.
Though Pulte's methods are unusual, it is quite common for the ultra-wealthy to fund social services, Business Insider previously reported. Approximately 61.7% of the billionaire population made donations to crime prevention, poverty reduction, and unemployment programs in 2018, which are classified as social services in Wealth-X's 2019 Billionaire Census.