Marcus Lemonis Gifts $10 Million To His Childhood High School

Teachers are some of the most overworked and underpaid professionals in existence. They work long hours for little pay and often buy school supplies out of their own pockets.

Schools, in general, suffer from underfunding and can use donations and extra funding to buy school supplies, update books and equipment, and expand extracurricular programs like sports and music.

It seems one entrepreneur and television star knows just how valuable (and undervalued) schools are, and is doing his part to give back!

Shortly after kicking off his nationwide initiative, “The Great American Tip-Off,” Marcus Lemonis pledged $10 million to his Colombus high school.

In early December, Lemonis pledged $1 million to kickstart his nationwide initiative of tipping service workers in a big way. He encouraged others to join him, but is now topping his own generous $1 million of tips with $10 million pledged to the Christopher Columbus High School!

At a schoolwide meeting, Lemonis gave a speech to explain his intentions. He said:

“When we think about the people that make this school run, the people that make it tick, the people that take care of the grounds and the classrooms, that teach us, that take care of us, those to me are the most important service providers on the planet. It’s not a glamorous job; it’s not a high-paying job; it’s a job with a lot of stress.”

He continued, saying, “Today, I’ll be providing a $3.1 million tip to everybody who works here. You’ll be sharing it. Whether you’re a school teacher, whether you are in the maintenance department — every single employee will receive a check for $18,000.”

The donation also included an additional $7 million to develop new buildings for the school campus, bringing the total of his donation to around $10 million.

Watch him announce the news to the school in the video below:

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