Santa Beck Pays $27K For Walmart Layaways

Glenn Beck

Radio host Glenn Beck, who founded Irving-based TheBlaze, paid off all the layaway accounts at a North Richland Hills Walmart near Dallas last weekend, two days before the final payments were due.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Beck and his wife broadcast live on Facebook from the store Saturday evening. They said they stopped at the Walmart on their way to a Christmas party, but ended up staying for several hours as employees helped Beck pay off each account, one-by-one.

A Walmart spokeswoman said Beck paid about $27,000 in total at the location on North Tarrant Parkway in North Richland Hills. Beck said on his radio program Monday that the individual accounts had balances that ranged from $24 to $500.

The host said he and his family had been inspired by Tyler Perry, who recently paid off all the layaway items at two Atlanta Walmart stores, which totaled more than $400,000.

Beck said he and his family were at the store earlier in the day, shopping for a women's shelter their church helps. He said he asked his family if they'd be happy to forgo big Christmas gifts in lieu of the layaway project, and they all said yes.

"The reason why I liked this was because it was something that people were working toward," he said on his program. "They weren't asking for a handout."