What would you do if you won the lottery ? Everyone’s fantasized about it, and answers will vary . But most people would probably agree that, after paying off debts and mortgages, it would be nice to share their good fortune with friends and family.
One recent lottery winner is choosing to zig where others zag, because he’s keeping his big win a big secret from his family.
The man won a 219 million yuan lottery jackpot.
219 million yuan is a lot of money: just shy of $30 million in U.S. dollars. Reports out of southern China say that the man, who’s identified simply as Mr. Li, claimed his prize alone.
He wore a disguise to claim the jackpot.
We’ve seen lottery winners wear disguises before , but this is usually done so they won’t be targeted by criminals or grifters. In Mr. Li’s case, he wore a disguise so he wouldn’t be targeted by his own family.
The ticket was purchased in Litang, China.
Litang has a population of about 120,000 people and is located close to Nanning, a larger city. When the man realized he’d won the big jackpot, he drove from Litang to Nanning to claim his prize.
He was paranoid about losing the ticket.
It’s understandable, since that little piece of paper was worth close to $30 million US.
“I only slept in a hotel because I was afraid to go out and lose the lottery ticket,” he said.
He immediately donated some of it to charity.
It’s a generous move, one that you don’t necessarily see from every lottery jackpot winner: Mr. Li donated 5 million to charity, leaving him with about 171.6 million yuan after he’s paid his taxes.
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He doesn’t want his wife and kid to know.
“I didn’t tell my wife and child for fear that they would be too complacent and would not work or work hard in the future,” Mr. Li said, explaining his rationale.
It’s kind of a fascinating story.
This is the part where we all want to know what Mr. Li’s wife and kid think of his move — but we won’t ever know, since he’s gone to such lengths to obscure his identity. If his plan comes to fruition, they may never know at all.
The lottery is big business in China.
Plenty of countries have big lottery jackpots, but jackpots in China are often boosted by the number of people buying tickets. Mr. Li won his big prize on China’s Welfare Lottery , which raises money for welfare and sports.
What do you think of his decision?
Nobody wants to be pestered by people after they win the lottery, but keeping the happy news from your nearest and dearest seems a tad extreme. Let us know what you think of this story in the comments.
