(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Businessman and former political candidate Willie Wilson celebrated a milestone birthday Friday by doing what he's known for: a cash giveaway.
Wilson, a philanthropist known buying people gasoline, groceries and making tax payments for struggling homeowners, was visiting Cook County Jail. He said he would give away $75,000 to jail detainees, seniors and churches, to mark his 75th birthday.
“It’s good to be able to give at 75,” Wilson said.
At the jail, he said, he tried to instill a sense of hope among inmates. After all, he said, he only has a seventh-grade education but has had a successful business career; if he can make it, they can, too.
Critics have said Wilson effectively was trying to buy votes with his events in the past, but Wilson says he genuinely cares about others. He has estimated he has given away $75 million to $80 million over the past 40 years.
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