A Slow Rainy Night At a Local Bar Ends With a ‘Ginormous’ Tip

Caitlin Cahill, recipient of a “Tip for Jesus”. Photo by Carol Tannenhauser.

By Carol Tannenhauser

When a tipsforjesus post appears on Instagram — there have been 135 so far — it means that some lucky server, in some random bar or restaurant, has come into some money.

Since 2013, a man has been turning up at establishments throughout the United States and Mexico, leaving tremendous tips. Forget doubling the tax, this guy adds thousands onto tabs a fraction of the amount. (He left $11,000 in an Italian restaurant in Phoenix!) He documents his generosity by posting pictures of the credit card receipts and servers on Instagram.

For years, the “god of gratuities,” as San Francisco Magazine called him, was quasi anonymous, strongly suspected to be Jack Selby, former vice president of PayPal. Selby’s identity was finally confirmed last Tuesday night at Guyer’s bar on Columbus Avenue, between 74^th and 75^th Streets. It was his first appearance in nearly a year and he may have been a little out of practice, as he commented, “…forgot to take a pic…’’ His 94,000 followers had to live with an uploaded clip from the New York Post.

Here’s a photo of the receipt, and the story of Upper West Sider Caitlin Cahill’s encounter with Jack Selby, in her own words:

“I normally don’t work Tuesday nights. I was just helping out. It was raining cats and dogs, so we were expecting little to no business. Towards the end of the evening, these two gentlemen came in. They were my only guests at the time. They sat at the bar and we chatted; really easy conversation about New York and LA, and what it’s like to work here, and what the neighborhood is like. I said I loved working here, which I do, and that it’s a great neighborhood, because it is. I live locally.

“We have some really nice craft beers here and they were both, kind of, testing them. They sat there for a couple of hours, then Jack mentioned Tips for Jesus and asked if I knew what it was. I said, ‘Yes,’ because it’s all over social media. He said, ‘Well, that’s me.’ I thought he was kidding around. Then, I saw the receipt: $5,000 and his bill was only $100! I said to him, “Are you sure?” He just nodded. I said, ‘Thank you,’ and before I knew it, he was gone.”

Selby’s name was clearly on the receipt. “After he left I texted one of my girlfriends right away and told her about the ginormous tip. She googled him and, sure enough, he was linked to the Tips for Jesus movement.”

Despite its name, Selby (pictured at right) insists Tips for Jesus is “agnostic.” He told San Francisco Magazine, “…the whole ‘movement’ was created as something of a guerrilla effort to encourage more people of means to give back—to foster a kind of ad hoc charity culture attractive to a generation that may be turned off by traditional philanthropy.” Selby now works at Thiel Capital and Clarium Capital Management.

It’s had that effect on Cahill, who said, “It does make me feel hopeful and inspired to be more altruistic in my own life. I’m going to use some of the money to help people who have less than I do, especially during the holidays. And, of course, I’m going to tip well when I go out. But, first, I’m going to do a little shopping.”