Lottery winner wins $217 million; Almost everything is donated to save the planet
*Featured image includes photo by Andrea Piacquadio and Pixabay
In December 2020, an anonymous man known as “Guy” made a big splash. Really big. He won a staggering $217 million on EuroMillions. It was the second largest jackpot in lottery history.
Instead of splurging on fancy cars and houses, Guy decided to use his newfound wealth to change the world. Having saved it.
As a megajackpot winner, he decided to spend his winnings
Although most of us only dream of getting rich, Guy managed to do it. On a lottery ticket, the chance of winning was one in 140 million.
As soon as he found out he won, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with the money. This is what inspired him to buy lottery tickets.
Retired in the south of France, Guy has always dreamed of preserving the environment. And now? Finally he had the means to try.
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He created Anyama, a foundation dedicated to “protecting and reviving forests, conserving and restoring biodiversity and supporting family caregivers.”
Guy named the foundation after a town in Côte d’Ivoire, near where he once lived. In an open letter on his foundation’s website, he recalled that he was deeply affected by witnessing the continuous logging that took place in the surrounding forests.
Guy’s dream of protecting the environment is becoming a reality
He was so moved by the devastation that he vowed that if he ever won the lottery, he would dedicate the winnings to restoring the balance between humans and nature.
With this in mind, he made sure that if he did buy a lottery ticket, it would count.
“I only played during important jackpots with one goal: to dedicate most of that amount to the foundation,” he wrote.
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He went on to say: “My dream has never been to buy boats, castles or other sports cars, my dream is to be useful and give meaning to this money with the maximum positive effect.”
It would seem that he fulfilled his promise. La Française des Jeux (FDJ), the company that runs lotteries in France, confirmed his donation. And according to Anyama’s website, the foundation has a number of environmental projects in the works.
What one lottery winner wants people to know
The elusive philanthropist does not want any praise, so he prefers to remain anonymous. Rather, he just wants to live peacefully and leave a lasting legacy that will affect generations to come.
And in doing so, he hopes he can inspire others to think the same. It’s not just good for Mother Earth, but Guy says it’s good for people too.
He believes that giving is the way to true happiness.
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He writes about the foundation: “It is above all an expression of conviction that I want to share with as many people as possible: donation makes people happy and is a great lever for transforming outrage into concrete and useful action.”
Guy could have easily spent his lottery winnings on himself, but instead he chose to use them to make a real impact on the world.
While most of us will never know what it’s like to have hundreds of millions of dollars in our bank account, we can know what it’s like to give all we can. And in doing so, we can also find true happiness.
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