How South Africans spend their big lotto winnings

0
448

The middle of the year can be an interesting time to see what South African lottery winners have said they will do or have already done with some of their spoils in the past six months.

For an opening example, there is the 50-year-old man from East London who won R2.2 million in the Lotto. That happened in the opening third of the year. He said at the time that he wanted to buy a house for his family, but didn’t have any other major plans for the time being.

In late April there was a R39 million winner via the Lotto. The woman from Durban hailed the win as a “life-changing jackpot” and planned to travel and invest in the future of her children.

“As a regular Lotto player, this is my first time winning such a significant amount. We are extremely grateful and excited,” she exclaimed.

The Durban woman’s sentiment was similar to that of a Gauteng winner’s ambition this same year, when a 52-year-old also planned to act selflessly and build a home for daughters on the back of her R500,000 win in the daily Lotto. Granted, R500k is nowhere as big as R39 million, but it can certainly go a long way in fulfilling dreams.

“I’ve decided to open a fixed account and save my winnings until early next year. I have two daughters and my wish has always been to build them a double-story dream house, where they can raise their children. My daughter is expecting her first child and the other one has two beautiful kids,” she said.

These stories of triumph and improvement of circumstances don’t have to be limited to 2022. A bit further back, in 2021, there were other great examples that made international lotto results headlines around the country and – in some cases – the world.

Many might remember the aspiring social worker who won R51 million in the Lotto. He pocketed the prize and kept his eye on his other proverbial prize – a professional career in his area of passion.

“I want to be able to offer effective and sustainable assistance to my community and getting the social work qualification will help me do just that,” he said.

“Winning this money does not mean that I must abandon my dream qualification – it was never just about me.”

Many others will recall the 73-year-old man who showed that one is never too old to win in the South African Lotto. He landed a cool R30 million and promptly projected where some of the money from his big win might go.

“I’m over the moon. I want to enjoy my winnings with my family and close friends. My family and I have a lovely home and my wife recently purchased a new car. The winnings will go towards paying off all my debt and providing financial support to my extended family,” he said.

Those are some really great examples of big wins in the Lotto with solid results for the winners and their families. There will probably be more of these to come in the future.

Advertisement