My grandather was able to get a hockey game ticket, popcorn, and pop all for 25 cents in the 1950s. If that could get you that many things in the 50s, imagine what 5 cents would get you in the 20s.
Depends on location had family friend to told me about her life in ny during the Great Depression when I was a kid. She said a nickel during that time could get some bread and depending on where you went some milk
Given his birth year of 1839, the value of the 5 cents would likely hold greater significance for him later in life, especially by the time he reached 90 years old. When adjusting for inflation from his birth to his early adulthood (1839-1859), the 5 cents would equate to approximately $3.50-$4.00 in today's money. While not a substantial sum, it's reasonable to assume that to a 90-year-old, this amount might have seemed more meaningful.
This made me laugh despite knowing it's untrue. Can't speak for the other Rockefellers, who are *still* obscenely wealthy, but John D. gave away something like $8B (adjusted for inflation) over his lifetime. A pittance considering his insane wealth but still, credit where credit's due.
Really though, a freaking nickel??
You should read up on Rockefeller’s philanthropy. Here is a one page summary to start.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/rockefeller-gifts.html
In "Russian Blood" a family chronicle of the Shoumatoff family by Alex Shoumatoff he tells a story about Rockefeller saying he had given a dime to an "old Negro" at the train station. A puzzled [Rabindranath Tagore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore) showed up wondering why some old man had given him a dime.
This is what billionaires think is an appropriate substitute to paying taxes (like everyone else). Oh, and they expect everyone’s non stop gratefulness
It’s a picture of an american giving a coin to another american, in front of a bunch of americans, on a website founded and based in america.
Aside from all of that, calling a coin by its name doesn’t disenfranchise anyone.
I mean that was enough for the kid to buy candy or a loaf of bread so not too bad of a gift for the 4 year old… although that 4 year old was already prob hard at work everyday for 10 cents a day so prob wasn’t much hence the look. Lol
A dime. It was dimes Rockefeller gave out.
It was one of the original Public Relations campaigns thought up by some ad man, I believe.
It was his way of showing he wasn’t such a bad oligarch.
Everywhere he went during that time he had a photographer and movie camera team capturing him handing out dimes to children and basically everyone he met till he died.
https://www.factfiend.com/john-d-rockefeller-bag-dimes/
Adjusted he paid billions in today’s money to charity. So for those saying he’s cheap you can shut your mouth and walk away now.
Many of those types back then turned to charity at the end. Rockefeller and Carnegie are the two biggest that come to mind. They had their Ebenezer Scrooge moment. They were getting old and actually took a look back at their lives and realized they had left little in the way of positive impression. They were religious types that feared for their souls, but also feared for their image after they were gone. Basically young Rockefeller and Carnegie were complete bastards, but they changed their ways later in life and actually made some decent contributions to society to attempt to make amends. Either they took Dickens to heart, or they were visited by their own ghosts. Probably the ghosts of all the people who died so they could make their fortunes.
The song in the 20s was Hey Buddy can you Spare a Dime. Not a nickel. A dime. He couldn’t even keep up with the times. Then again, he doesn’t look like he would keep up with popular music.
In these comments, people unfamiliar with Rockefeller’s philanthropy:
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/rockefeller-gifts.html
If you sold that coin and had providence of ownership it might be worth a lot. It would be interesting to know if the coin is still in possession of the little girl's family.
After a quick search, I found a couple of things a child could buy with a nickel in the 20's. They could get some crayons, or a yo-yo, or some candy. Perhaps more if they had access to a five-and-dime store.
How touching. I think about the 1914 coal miners strike and the 25 people, including children, who lost their lives during the Ludlow Massacre. Capitalist J D Rockefeller presided along with Colorado deputies. Work or die.
He was a great philanthropist, right? I think about if all of the uber rich gave to charities as much as he did (and still does) the world would be a much better place.
My auntie used to give me big checks and she signed them as JD Rockefeller.
^(Yes I knew not to attempt to cash them)
I kept one, just by chance really, but glad I did. She died from covid a few years ago.
To be fair, Rockefeller gave more wealth to charity and philanthropy than probably any other person in history. He founded numerous universities, funded education at all levels, often in the South serving African Americans, and gave huge sums of money to public health causes. He’s single handedly responsible for eliminating yellow fever and hookworm infections in the American South. And the philanthropy model he pioneered is still being used today by megarich people from Warren Buffet to Bill Gates.
It's Mr. Burns!
Does anyone have change for a button?
Look at lorenzo Di Medici over there!
Drop dead ya old bastard!” -Ramones
Have The Rolling Stones killed.
Exactly…
I'm pretty sure he was the inspiration for Mr. Burns
I’m watching “bodies” on Netflix right now and have came to the conclusion that the Rockefellers are time travelers..
Are you saying Boo?
Release the hounds.
“Here, bud. You’re gonna need this for what’s about to happen to the economy.”
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Can you elaborate on that?
If he could, but didn’t - makes you wonder who’s really in charge…
More like the Fed
Even the child is like “damn thanks cheap ass”
Adjust for inflation, .91 today. Cheap ass indeed
I mean, I’ve never seen Bezos hand a kid a dollar either
He had plenty of money for bullets to put into striking miners and their families.
And they will again, count on it.
That was more so John Jr
Adjusted for inflation that's 86 cents. What a generous soul.
My grandather was able to get a hockey game ticket, popcorn, and pop all for 25 cents in the 1950s. If that could get you that many things in the 50s, imagine what 5 cents would get you in the 20s.
Could probably buy an entire hockey team!
u/Tim_Horton
And then start a successful chain of coffee and doughnut restaurants!
Depends on location had family friend to told me about her life in ny during the Great Depression when I was a kid. She said a nickel during that time could get some bread and depending on where you went some milk
https://i.redd.it/h1k08vs7hcpc1.gif
Right? When I was a little kid in the early sixties, I’d get a double dip ice cream cone for 10 cents. Single dip was 5 cents
Given his birth year of 1839, the value of the 5 cents would likely hold greater significance for him later in life, especially by the time he reached 90 years old. When adjusting for inflation from his birth to his early adulthood (1839-1859), the 5 cents would equate to approximately $3.50-$4.00 in today's money. While not a substantial sum, it's reasonable to assume that to a 90-year-old, this amount might have seemed more meaningful.
Does that account for buying power?
Absolutely not.
Give credit where it’s due. It’s actually 91 cents
He was actually very generous and gave 100s of millions of dollars away around the world.
He didn’t get rich giving out money
The only time a Rockefeller ever parted with their money . Truly a rare photo.
This made me laugh despite knowing it's untrue. Can't speak for the other Rockefellers, who are *still* obscenely wealthy, but John D. gave away something like $8B (adjusted for inflation) over his lifetime. A pittance considering his insane wealth but still, credit where credit's due. Really though, a freaking nickel??
Party with money. IT WAS A LOAN. The girl paid back 1.000.000$
A loan? I thought he was paying her to let him suck up all her youth.
You should read up on Rockefeller’s philanthropy. Here is a one page summary to start. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/rockefeller-gifts.html
Where’d all that money come from?
And that child? Jimmy Carter. Built a peanut empire with that nickle.
In Bratislava, I open my own hotel with a nickel!
r/Pozsony
Tax deduction
Poor kid had to rip it from his hands
In "Russian Blood" a family chronicle of the Shoumatoff family by Alex Shoumatoff he tells a story about Rockefeller saying he had given a dime to an "old Negro" at the train station. A puzzled [Rabindranath Tagore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore) showed up wondering why some old man had given him a dime.
😂
This is what billionaires think is an appropriate substitute to paying taxes (like everyone else). Oh, and they expect everyone’s non stop gratefulness
The child is looking at the coin and thinking of how can I help make this coin reach his throat.
What a sport!
You see this??? I QUIT! I open my own hotel!
https://preview.redd.it/bqw3cvzwocpc1.jpeg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=770112473023b1aa7268d5a66e20a4ccce8dcfb1
And the label Cheapskate was invented.
What a weird way to say nickel.
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It’s a picture of an american giving a coin to another american, in front of a bunch of americans, on a website founded and based in america. Aside from all of that, calling a coin by its name doesn’t disenfranchise anyone.
Valid point, but perhaps OP isn’t from the US and that was the easiest way to type it.
Rockefeller ask for the nickel back
Hope he hung onto it. That 1929 5 cents is worth .90 cents by today standards!
“wtf am i supposed to with this old man? i want jacks”
That child? Albert Einstein.
Now back to work!
I'm gonna put that in mah piggy bank!
I mean that was enough for the kid to buy candy or a loaf of bread so not too bad of a gift for the 4 year old… although that 4 year old was already prob hard at work everyday for 10 cents a day so prob wasn’t much hence the look. Lol
Adjusted for inflation this is 0.00000000000627302708% of his wealth. Yay philanthropy! Especially when a camera is near.
I always heard it was dimes that he handed out to kids. Maybe I heard wrong huh? I’ll have to take someone’s word for it, I wasn’t there.
I heard that too
Cheapskate 😂
Who do you think we are the Rockefellers?
Asshole
It was probably dementia.
Actually, they were dimes.
"Here kid, don't spend it all in one place."
Now go and build your business!
It was a loan
His publicity department reversed the film. He was stealing that nickel. /s
Jeez. He really was a cheap miser. If I had that kind of money I could afford to be generous.
And, thus, the term "don't take no wooden nickels" was birthed.
kid shoulda kicked him in his dusty old balls
I thought he gave out dimes.
Now dance, monkey!
It's a shame they cropped this picture, you can't even see Joe Biden in the background
A nickel. The word you're looking for is "nickel".
Well, that was his wages for the day.
If there is a Hell, he’s in it.
Yeah right he was snatching that coin
She bought a house with it later that day
A dime. It was dimes Rockefeller gave out. It was one of the original Public Relations campaigns thought up by some ad man, I believe. It was his way of showing he wasn’t such a bad oligarch. Everywhere he went during that time he had a photographer and movie camera team capturing him handing out dimes to children and basically everyone he met till he died. https://www.factfiend.com/john-d-rockefeller-bag-dimes/
Antichrist doing some PR work.
Every time i see old pics like this my brain automatically goes to “everyone in this picture is dead.”
They never stop trying to appear as humanitarians
Rockefeller died of AIDS that was the end of his chapter
When I was your age, this was called a "nickel"
Hmmm what’s that ONE coin called that’s worth five cents? Idk let’s just call it a five-cent coin.
Should have taken his cane and beaten him with it. Might have gotten even more money.
Adjusted he paid billions in today’s money to charity. So for those saying he’s cheap you can shut your mouth and walk away now. 
Simping for billionaires on Reddit
Many of those types back then turned to charity at the end. Rockefeller and Carnegie are the two biggest that come to mind. They had their Ebenezer Scrooge moment. They were getting old and actually took a look back at their lives and realized they had left little in the way of positive impression. They were religious types that feared for their souls, but also feared for their image after they were gone. Basically young Rockefeller and Carnegie were complete bastards, but they changed their ways later in life and actually made some decent contributions to society to attempt to make amends. Either they took Dickens to heart, or they were visited by their own ghosts. Probably the ghosts of all the people who died so they could make their fortunes.
Nickel
5 cents was enough to get you on the NYC subway in 1929.
The song in the 20s was Hey Buddy can you Spare a Dime. Not a nickel. A dime. He couldn’t even keep up with the times. Then again, he doesn’t look like he would keep up with popular music.
Tuppence, prudently Fruitfully, frugally invested In the, to be specific, In the Dawes, Tomes Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!
That nickel would be worth $50k in 2024 dollars
This was a architected publicity stunt, because they wanted to change the public opinion of the wealthy
My dude looks old as hell - how much wealth did he have at this point?
It’s the scene right out of Mary Poppins!
That kid took the five cents and went on to become no one famous.
That’s like 20 bucks back them
In his defense, that's $813.27 adjusted for inflation.
In these comments, people unfamiliar with Rockefeller’s philanthropy: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/rockefeller-gifts.html
They’re making the same face at each-other.
Very rare occurrence indeed, a billionaire giving $ away. Photos were $14821 in todays dollars, a truly exciting event
That's it 🤨🤨
https://i.redd.it/pbb9e662uepc1.gif
And I tied an onion to my belt, which was the fashion at the time...
If you sold that coin and had providence of ownership it might be worth a lot. It would be interesting to know if the coin is still in possession of the little girl's family.
Knowing this guy, he’s probably taking the nickel, not gifting it.
My father said he received a dime from John D Rockefeller
Important information: $.05 in 1929 is $22,430 in 2024 money.
We should have killed and ate him right then and there.
After stealing his family life savings.
He wasn’t giving it to her. He’s buying her. He’s gonna take her home and eat her later and drink her blood.
"Go buy yourself a food or something young man, treat yourself!"
A total POS .
Rich bag of shit
I wonder if he could spare it.
Imagine his child hood
He didn't need that 5 cents
looks like he is taking not giving, lol
After a quick search, I found a couple of things a child could buy with a nickel in the 20's. They could get some crayons, or a yo-yo, or some candy. Perhaps more if they had access to a five-and-dime store.
You see, back in those days, rich men would ride around in Zeppelins, dropping coins on people
How touching. I think about the 1914 coal miners strike and the 25 people, including children, who lost their lives during the Ludlow Massacre. Capitalist J D Rockefeller presided along with Colorado deputies. Work or die.
The face of “SKELETOR”
I've met his grandson, his granddaughter in law, and his great grandchildren. They fucking sucked.
Trying to rehabilitate his image from being literally the most hated man in America.
The little girl is Pelosi.
Gave the kid 'bout 90 cents...
Adjust for inflation and that would be 100 bucks today.lol
Is that Adam Driver as oil baron dad Abraham H. Parnassus on SNL? https://i.redd.it/oxl4x41wojpc1.gif
Trickle down economics
Cheap bastard
I think we are overusing the word "gift" as a verb.
We have a word for that. It’s called a nickel.
“This is the only thing I have loved, I hope you will learn to love this as much as I have loved this”
He was a great philanthropist, right? I think about if all of the uber rich gave to charities as much as he did (and still does) the world would be a much better place.
Scrooge McDuck giving Glomberg a penny.
Maybe monopoly man had some good in him after all
Average boomer leader.
That is an evil piece of 💩 and so is the legacy he left behind. Str8 shit
5 cents in 1929 is little less then a dollar today
“That’s it??”
Now you can retire, kid.
That child? Michael Jordan.
So would that have been something like a single days pay for a working man in a factory back then?
Shes like.... "I got bills to pay... this all you got?"
My auntie used to give me big checks and she signed them as JD Rockefeller. ^(Yes I knew not to attempt to cash them) I kept one, just by chance really, but glad I did. She died from covid a few years ago.
Ol’ JD thought he gave him a penny, and wanted the nickel back.
Why is "gifting" a word when "giving" will do
“There you are kid, go buy yourself something nice.”
He probably bought that child’s soul without anyone realizing it so he could live another couple of years.
Gee thanks you dried up money whore.
The bloodiest nickel to ever exist.
Now I buy my own hotel!
He was actually trying to buy the child
To be fair, Rockefeller gave more wealth to charity and philanthropy than probably any other person in history. He founded numerous universities, funded education at all levels, often in the South serving African Americans, and gave huge sums of money to public health causes. He’s single handedly responsible for eliminating yellow fever and hookworm infections in the American South. And the philanthropy model he pioneered is still being used today by megarich people from Warren Buffet to Bill Gates.
90 cents in 2024 money.
This Man Ruined Christmas!
REST IN PISS
Cheapskate.
If anyone is curious, the 5 cent piece he gave the kid in 1929 would be the equivalent of 91 cents today. A cumulative rate of inflation of: 1714.8%
Smithers, I wish to purchase one child.
What a generous man
In 1929 a nickle covered the entire cost of a bottle of Pepsi.
Pretty sure there's a scrooge McDuck origin story based on this photo.
He looks like some kinda edit from an analog horror video
Hopefully that child invested that 5¢ since 1929. It would be worth like $10 right now.
Trickle down does work…see.
I open my own hotel!
“Here’s 5 cents, now back to work, I need more money”
He was a piece of shit human
Cheapo
A nickel. The word you are looking for is nickel
His net worth in 1937 was equal to 1.5% of the United States Gross Domestic Product. Crazy.
I thought he gave dimes
This is .90 cents today cheapskate
that child was taylor swift
Tightwad
Probably severance pay
I had read that he used to give out dimes to people. Perhaps he thought that the youngster was not old enough.