The winner of America’s record-breaking $2.04bn (£1.69bn) lottery jackpot has been named despite wanting to stay out of the spotlight.
Edwin Castro Bought a winning ticket At a convenience store in Los Angeles in November, he matched all five winning numbers and the Powerball numbers — beating the odds of 1 in 292 million.
He said in a statement that he was “shocked and ecstatic” with the win.
That lucky ticket made Mr Castro the 1,292nd richest person in the world, according to the latest Forbes Billionaires list.
His name was only released yesterday under California public disclosure laws. lottery Mr. Castro wished to remain private and declined to disclose his age, occupation or address, officials said.
But he said he was a student in the California public school system, which received $156.3 million from the Powerball jackpot as part of the lottery’s charitable goals.
“As someone who has been rewarded for being educated in the California public education system, it’s great to hear that my victory has benefited the California school system as well,” he said.
Read more US news:
Alleged killer attacked her own lawyer
College gunman ‘may have planned’ school attack
US admits UFO it shot down was ‘benign’
Mr. Castro purchased the ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, a small town 15 miles north of Los Angeles. The store will also receive a $1 million bonus for selling winning tickets.
Powerball winners can choose to pay over 30 times a year or claim their prize all at once.
Mr. Castro chose the latter, receiving $997.6 million, officials said at a news conference in Sacramento.
Advertised jackpots will be based on the estimated value of the winnings if the winnings are invested in 30-year government bonds. Most winners ask for a one-time payment, even if the total amount is low.
The Powerball lottery climbed to a record jackpot total of more than $2 billion by the end of 2022 after more than 40 consecutive failed draws.
The second-highest jackpot was in 2016, when three winning ticket holders in California, Florida and Tennessee shared a prize of $1.586 million.
California is one of 45 states and three us Regions that participate in the Powerball lottery.