- Edwin Castro won the US lottery in 2023, and walked away with US$628.5 million after taxes; he’s spent it on a Fiji holiday with friends, Porsches, and a US$47 million Bel Air mansion
- He’s since also bought a US$4 million mansion for his parents and a Hollywood Hills pad with Ariana Grande and Dakota Johnson as his neighbours
Overnight multimillionaire Edwin Castro raked in his immense wealth with an outstanding stroke of luck: he won the biggest US lottery jackpot ever, the Powerball, worth US$2.04 billion, per The New York Times. After taxes, he reportedly walked away with a lump sum of US$628.5 million on Valentine’s Day last year and swiftly became a media darling for how he has been spending his fortune.
He is now reportedly dating a mystery woman, who he was spotted with earlier this month. New York Post reports that she is Payten Vincent, a self-described writer and model. The two were seen the night before in LA at the A-lister hotspot Nobu, and then again the next morning in the same clothes. This is the third woman Castro has been linked to recently.
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But what else do we know about the richest lottery winner
,who is now leading a life comparable to celebrities?
What is Edwin Castro’s background … and what’s he like?
Castro was reportedly living in a one-bedroom home in Altadena, California before winning the Powerball. He bought his winning ticket from petrol station Joe’s Service Center in his hometown, per Florida Today.
An Eagle Scout as a child, he later went to Crescent Valley High School in La Crescenta, California, and played American football as a linebacker, per New York Post. He then studied architecture at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. British media reports that he is a former mechanic.
A childhood friend of Castro’s told New York Post that he was “always a good kid, made good grades, and always did community service”. Other sources said that he is a devout Christian with “strong faith” and reads the Bible. Another source said, “God gave him [the win] because He knew [Castro] would be a good steward with it and use it to help others.”
What did Edwin Castro do after his big lottery win?
Even before his name was revealed to the public, Castro left social media, per New York Post. Then he jetted off to Fiji for a luxurious holiday with his friends. The publication exclusively reported that he shared photos of himself and his pals at the Cloud 9 floating bar in Fiji, known as “Fiji’s Floating Paradise”.
