He invests the millions from the lottery in villas, luxury cars and luxurious vacations.
Last week, an Austrian hit the EuroMillions jackpot and won an incredible €240 million. Edwin Castro, an American, had even better luck in the lottery. On November 8, 2022, he won the largest jackpot in the history of Powerball, the American lotto, amounting to two billion US dollars. After taxes were deducted, the 31-year-old received a payment of $997 million.
But in the United States, the jackpot winner cannot remain anonymous for more than 4 months. The identity of Edwin Castro was therefore revealed in February this year. Castro used his last weeks of anonymity to treat some of his close friends to a trip to Fiji before his name was made public. He ‘disappeared’ from social media after winning the jackpot and took his friends on a luxury trip to Fiji. In photos posted to Instagram, a smiling Castro is seen holding a huge fish he caught during an excursion.
Another photo shows Castro and his friends in swimsuits posing at the exclusive Cloud 9 bar, described as “Fiji’s floating paradise.” The bar is a two-level floating oasis with drinks, snorkelling, and a pizzeria on board. It is only accessible by boat and is about an hour from Port Denarau on the mainland part of the island. Cloud 9 describes itself as: “A renowned hub for artisans, underground musicians, lovers, dreamers and fun seekers from around the world,” on its website, adding that it is “more than just a bar floating; it’s an atmosphere.”
Once back from his trip, Castro began to act serious. Sources said one of the first actions he took was to hire bodyguards for himself and his family, who were still living at the time in their three-bedroom family home near the suburb of La Crescenta, California, where he grew up. Since then, Castro, an architect, and his brother Jesse, a banker, have worked together to manage his enormous fortune.
Since his big win, Castro has also been seen driving vintage sports cars and has made major real estate purchases, including a $25 million home in the Hollywood Hills and a $47 million estate in Bel Air . One of Castro’s biggest purchases was a 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom home in the Hollywood Hills, where some of his closest neighbors include Ariana Grande, Dakota Johnson and Jimmy Kimmel.
He also bought his parents a $4 million home in Altadena, which features a Japanese-inspired design. He therefore reportedly purchased around three villas around Los Angeles for a total of $76 million.
