Pakistani Hotel Cleaner Returns $50,000 Found in Room

Essa Khan, a hotel cleaner from Pakistan, returned $50,000 to a businessman who had left the money behind accidentally.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on July 16 2010

iStockphoto image

Everyone would like to think they’d do the right thing if they came across a large sum of money. But Pakistani hotel cleaner Essa Khan proved his honesty in a dramatic fashion: he handed over $50,000 cash that had been left in a hotel room by a Japanese visitor.

While $50,000 is a lot of money by anyone’s standards, it’s a fortune in Khan’s country: he earns a mere $235 a month.

Khan claims that he never felt the temptation to keep the money for himself.

“Times are hard for everyone, but that doesn’t mean we should start stealing and taking things which do not belong to us,” he told BBC News.

Khan hopes that his actions will help to show the rest of the world that Pakistanis and people of Muslim faith are not the villains that they’re too often portrayed as in the Western media.

“I want people around the world to know that there are many good people in Pakistan - everybody is not a terrorist here.”

Filed under: General Interest,

Liked this? You'll love these, too:

Family Discovers $45,000 in Home and Returns the Money

After moving into a new house, Josh Ferrin discovered $45,000, which had been stored there by previous owner Arthur Bangerter. Read More
Unexpected Ways to Generate Cash

Short on dough? Check out these surprising ways to raise some. Read More
San Diego Chargers Fans Return $1,000 in Lost Money

When a waitress dropped more than $1,000 in bills, fans returned every last dollar to her. Read More
Top Ten Ways to Spend Less and Get More

Check out these great strategies for saving money. Read More
Flash Fortunes: How the Suddenly Rich Make Their Money

How do people come into sudden wealth? Check out these sometimes inspiring, sometimes unfair, examples. Read More