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The diner who has left waiters thousands of dollars as Tips for Jesus reveals himself to be a millionaire tech exec in the 'PayPal Mafia'

jack selby
Jack Selby, left, at a screening of "Freeheld" Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

  • Venture capitalist and former PayPal executive Jack Selby finally confirmed he was the man behind "Tips for Jesus." 
  • For years, Tips for Jesus has anonymously left tips of up to $5,000. 
  • Selby is a member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia" and a hedge fund director. 

 

The generous tipper behind Tips for Jesus has finally revealed his identity.

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Starting in 2013, someone began leaving tips of more than $1,000 — and often up to $5,000. The mysterious tipster would document his generous ways on an Instagram account, and sign the receipt "Tips for Jesus."

Big up to Christop! #godbless #thumbsup

A post shared by tipsforjesus (@tipsforjesus) on May 22, 2015 at 9:27pm PDT

Jack Selby, a venture capitalist and former vice president at PayPal, has long been rumored to be the man behind the tips. However, it was only this week that he confirmed his identity.

On Thursday, The New York Post reported that Selby had been spotted leaving a $5,000 tip after buying $100 in drinks at a bar called Guyer's in New York City. On Friday, the Tips for Jesus Instagram posted a photo of the article — seemingly confirming, finally, that Selby was the man behind the account.

Thanks to everyone at Guyer’s! And yeah, forgot to take a pic of the receipt, so thanks @nypost! #wereback #godbless #tipsforjesus

A post shared by tipsforjesus (@tipsforjesus) on Nov 16, 2017 at 10:56pm PST

The caption reads: "Thanks to everyone at Guyer's! And yeah, forgot to take a pic of the receipt, so thanks @nypost! #wereback #godbless #tipsforjesus."

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Selby is a member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia" — early members of the tech company that went on to achieve even greater prominence in the industry. He had been an original employee, and served as senior vice president before PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002.

After leaving PayPal, Selby started macro hedge fund Clarium Capital Management with tech investor (and now Trump supporter) Peter Thiel. Currently, Selby is also the managing director at Thiel Capital.

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