Lottery Winner of 42 Billion Won Appears Dressed as a Cartoon Character... "Keeping It a Secret from My Wife and Children"

Did Not Announce Winning News for Fear Family Would Become Lazy
Donated 980 Million Won to Charity After Receiving 33 Billion Won After Tax

The man known only as "Ri" was happy to have won the lottery but asked to remain anonymous to keep the truth from his wife and child. Photo by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Welfare Lottery Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] A man who won a 26 million-pound (approximately 42 billion KRW) lottery in Nanning, China, decided to keep this fact secret from his wife and children, according to a report by the British newspaper The Sun on the 1st (local time). It is reported that the man who received the lottery made this decision out of fear that his family might become lazy if they found out about the win.

According to Nanning Evening News, the man known only as 'Li' said that while winning the lottery was good, he asked to remain anonymous to hide the fact from his wife and children. He said, "I did not tell them because I was worried that if my wife and children heard the news of the win, they would become complacent and stop working."

Li purchased 40 lottery tickets at a store in Litang, located east of Nanning. After confirming his win, he boarded a train to the city to claim the 26 million-pound (approximately 42 billion KRW) prize. Before receiving the prize, Li stayed only in a hotel over the weekend to prepare for any unforeseen accidents. He said he did not go outside the hotel for fear of losing the lottery tickets.

On the day of receipt, October 24th, he visited a lottery office in Nanning, China, disguised as a yellow cartoon character to conceal his identity. After receiving 20.4 million pounds (approximately 33 billion KRW) after tax, he announced that he would donate 600,000 pounds (approximately 980 million KRW) to charity.

Having purchased lottery tickets for over 10 years but only winning small amounts before, Li responded to the question "What will you do with the prize money?" by saying, "I have not decided yet," and added, "I will take my time to plan how to use the money."