Remembering some of South Africa’s youngest lottery winners
South Africa has recorded some very young lottery winners. Where are they from and how did they end up being winners?
A number of South Africans have become multi-millionaires after winning the Powerball or Lotto over the years.
Their ages and circumstances have come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s well worth rekindling some of the stories centred around the youngest winners in the country.
Take, for instance, August 2021’s winner from Durban. The student was just 23 years old at the time and walked off with R3 million after winning the Lotto Plus 1.
She spent 80 bucks on a quick-pick selection and, lo and behold, landed the big prize.
“When I found it in my purse. I decided to visit my nearest local store to validate the ticket, where the cashier advised me to go to claim my winnings,” she enthused a few months ago.
“My wish has always been to build my mother her dream home where she can retire. I am also currently completing a course in Business Management and the winnings will go towards achieving many of my dreams. I want to complete my studies, invest and spoil my siblings.”
In the same year, that same month, a 34-year-old engineer from Secunda banked a much bigger prize. This time, it was a whopping R145 million in the Powerball.
“It was not easy to make the call to claim the winnings‚” exclaimed the winner, whose contemporaries can be found among the youngest Lotto winners in South Africa.
“I needed to properly digest it and accept that my life has changed.
“Even growing up‚ I can’t say we struggled but it was a life of hustling. There was a time I spent a while looking for a job.”
And let’s not overlook the young couple, who way back in 2003, pocketed R6 million in the SA Lotto. Their combined age wasn’t even 40 years old then. What a win it was for the Western Cape youngsters.
“My girlfriend and I decided to play R20 as a couple. This was only the third time that she had played,” remembered the 20-year-old man in the couple, whose partner was 18 years old at the time.
“She chose our numbers randomly. Wherever her hand stopped on the coupon, there she ticked off a number. Now I truly know that this is a game of chance.
“We checked our numbers together, so every time a number was drawn we looked at each other and thought, what if?
“No words can describe how we felt when we saw that we matched all six numbers in one line.
“Then we started working out how much we would win, should several people share the jackpot. We didn’t really care. When you are our age, any money will do.”
From the youngest to the oldest, it’s well worth looking to the opposite side of the age spectrum as well. And there is no finer example than the 73-year-old male who took a while to claim his R30 million win in the SA Lotto, but, thankfully, eventually did.
“I’m over the moon. I want to enjoy my winnings with my family and close friends. My family and I have a lovely home, and my wife recently purchased a new car. The winnings will go towards paying off all my debt and providing financial support to my extended family,” he said.
