Of all of the people I know with various investments, the only ones that really seem to make money, day in and day out, year after year are the ones who own real estate.
Have him buy a small cheap condo in an apartment building type setup. $40k.
Rent it out. Profits all go into an account.
When you pay it off, immediately buy the condo next door.
Rinse, repeat.
In 10 years you'll own the building. flip the whole thing and start over with $150k condos.
In 20 years, he'll own strip malls and be working from home, semi retired.
EDIT: Nevermind, I didn't read your last line, forget everything I said. Tell him to invest in Bitcoins.
