A boy gave his only dollar to someone he mistook as homeless. In exchange, the businessman rewarded him for his generosity.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Matt Busbice and his partners have built and sold several outdoor businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But Busbice, the 42-year-old owner of BuckFeather sporting goods store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, says he's never felt richer than the day he received a single dollar.

“I haven't had this much faith in humanity in a long time,” Busbice said.

He says it all started about a month ago. It was early in the morning and the fire alarm was going off inside their condo complex. So Busbice shot out of bed and ran downstairs only to discover there was no fire. But he was awake now, so even though he was wearing mismatched clothes and was a mess, he decided to go out for a cup of coffee.

As he was about to enter the cafeteria, he remembered that he had not said his morning prayer. So, as the security camera shows, Busbice went to the corner of the yard to pray.

“And I slowly started to open my eyes, and there's a boy coming up to me, about my height,” Busbice said.

The boy had a clenched fist, so Busbice prepared for a confrontation. But instead, the boy opened his fist to reveal a $1 bill.

“And I go, 'What?'” Busbice said.

“'If you're homeless, here's a dollar,'” 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. recalled telling Busbice. “…I've always wanted to help a homeless person, and I finally had the opportunity.”

Ellis says he just cashed out the dollar for good grades. It was the only money he had to his name. Busbice was so moved that she invited Ellis to lunch, then connected with Ellis' father, who was next door, and promised to stay in touch.

As a reward for his kindness, Busbice gave Ellis a nice shopping spree: 40 seconds to pick out whatever he wanted at BuckFeather, including a new bike. Ellis says it was great, but definitely not what he wanted for his dollar.

“Joy, because I helped someone,” Ellis said. “Give something as a gift and you feel like you have a lot.”

“If you give, you get more out of it,” Busbice said. “I couldn't understand it as a child. And if we can spread it, everything changes.”