A man finds a wallet with $700 in it. A few days later, he comes across a note stating that a wealthy man lost his wallet and that anyone who finds it would receive a $50 reward. The man eventually locates the owner and returns the wallet, but the wealthy man says, “I see you’ve already taken your reward.” Confused, the poor man asks, “What do you mean?” The wealthy man responds, “This wallet had $750 in it when I lost it.”
After some back-and-forth, the two men decide to settle the matter in court.
The poor man presents his case, and then the wealthy man speaks, concluding with, “Your Honor, I trust you, and you trust me.” The judge agrees, “Obviously.”
At this point, the poor man is concerned, while the wealthy man smiles. But then, the judge hands the wallet to the poor man and says, “You are, of course, an honest man, and if you claim that your wallet had $750, I believe it. But this wallet must belong to someone else, because if the man who found it were a liar or a thief, he wouldn’t have returned it at all. The money belongs to the person who found it, unless the rightful owner comes forward.”
The wealthy man protests, “What about my money?”
The judge calmly replies, “We’ll just have to wait until your wallet with the $750 is found.”