In this article we are going to learn about lottery winners who donated their winnings to good causes and how to become the next person on the list of lottery winners at Lottoland.

10. Barbara & Ray Wragg

This couple weren’t wealthy before hitting the jackpot. However, when they did, their winnings came to an incredible £76 million. They didn’t treat themselves with all that money – they bought a land rover and sold their house to a young couple when their bought their new house.

But they are still definitely some of the most generous winners of all time. They gave away 70% of their winnings! That’s almost £5.7 million they spread across 17 charities!

Additionally, to this, the money they made selling their house was also donated – they used it to help fund some local hospitals and buy TV screens for every room in the children’s wing, so the kids could watch cartoons while they were sick in their hospital beds. If only all winners did that!

9. Bob Erb

Mr Erb was always known as a generous person before he won the lottery. He’d often give money to homeless people or buy clothes for children. 

Then, in 2012 he hit the jackpot of $25 million. We don’t know how much he has donated in total, but we do know that he had already given $8 million in the first year after winning. He’s given hundreds of thousands to family and friends, bought 10 cars for other people and paid off $300,000 in dentist fees for local community members who couldn’t afford to pay for their own treatment.

Once, he even paid for a burger and fries with a $10,000 check because he knew the restaurant owner’s daughter had cancer. Now that’s the kind of man you want as a neighbour.

8. Allen & Violet Large

Allen and Violet were a Canadian couple who hit the jackpot in 2010 during a rough time in their personal lives as Violet had been receiving treatment for cancer when they suddenly became $11.2 richer.

But even though they had every right to be selfish, they only kept $2000 for themselves. They handed out the remainder of the winnings to family, friends, the local fire department, hospitals, churches, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. Now that’s what I call kind hearted people.

7. Pastor Solomon Jackson Jr

Pastor Solomon Jackson Jr. is a man who practices what he preaches. He won an unbelievable Powerball jackpot in 2009, taking home $130 million after taxes.

However, he didn’t keep it tall to himself. He was soon handing out money to multiple universities in South Carolina, including the one where he once studied. It didn’t take him long to give away $12 million of his winnings!

6. Tom Christ

Tom Christ was already relatively wealthy as he was a CEO of an electricity company - he had money in the bank to keep his family happy and comfortable for years. Still, most rich people are interested in getting their hands on more money and getting richer and richer. However, Tom wasn’t like that – he was more interested in making the world a better place.

He knew exactly how to do so – he gave 100% of his $31 million win to charity. Most of the money was given to children who needed specialized treatment for cancer. He did it all in memory of his wife, who sadly passed away from lung cancer the year before.

5. Colin and Chris Weir

This British couple won the biggest jackpot ever seen in Britain at the time, taking home £161 million thanks to the EuroMillions lottery.

Luckily for the people around them, they were super generous people. Sadly, Colin passed away 8 years after his win, but he’ll be remembered by his generosity. By the time he passed, he had given away at least £41 million!

4. French Winner

Despite giving away so much money that this winner made it 4th on this list – he has never revealed himself.

We do know that this winner is a man, that he was in his 50’s and had no children when he won an incredible €72 million in 2014.

We also know that he did not keep it all to himself and gave away $52.8 million to 10 French charities. His only condition was that they tell him how his donation was being used. Generosity and modesty at its finest.

3. Sheila Ryan

In 1988, Sheila Ryan won a jackpot so big that it made her the biggest single jackpot winner that the US had ever seen. It was a massive $55.2 million Florida lottery jackpot.

At the time, she was working in real estate and living in a mobile home. Nobody would’ve questioned her if she’d blown all that money, and actually would have probably expected it.

Instead, she set up the Ryan Foundation. To this day, the Foundation is still helping children, victims of domestic abuse, senior citizens and stray animals, even though Sheila passed away in 1996.

The reason why the charity is still operating is all thanks to Sheila’s generosity. It still has funding because Sheila gave 100% of her $55.2 million win to the Foundation.

2. Frances and Patrick Connolly

They were definitely not ordinary lottery winners. In 2019, they won a whopping lottery jackpot of £114.9 million.

But they didn’t book a holiday or start partying. They knew immediately that the high-life and materialistic life wasn’t for them. So, instead, they sat down and made a list of all their loved ones and wanted to help with their new cash.

They also set up two charities to help the most vulnerable people in their area and made sure their donations spread further that their circle of family and friends. This included a charitable foundation named after her late mother and another called the PFC Trust which supports local young carers, the elderly and refugees in her hometown.

To date, they have roughly given away £60 million.

Roy Cockrum

Coming first on this list of charitable people is Roy Cockrum.

He won a jackpot that is still the biggest lottery win in the history of Tennessee, totalling a whopping $259.8 million! This is a remarkable win, and not just because it was so big, it’s unusual because Roy used to be a monk who once took a vow of poverty.

So, when he won big, he did what any ex-monk would do, and gave most of it away. His first act as a rich man was to move close to his elderly parents to look after them. He also bought himself a car, which he considers a luxury.

Before he was a monk, Roy was an actor, so it’s no surprise that the Roy Cockrum Foundation that he set up is finding non-profit theatres up and down the US.

Additionally, to this, he further donated money to hospitals and humanitarian causes like Doctors Without Borders. We don’t know how much money he’s given away, but we know that it is millions worth of donations.

Become the next lottery winner with Lottoland

Now that we know the answer to the question ‘where do lottery winners put their money’, it’s time to ask you - what would you do with your winnings? Would you want to become one of these lottery heroes?

Well, you can become one by increasing your chances of winning the lottery by betting on lotto’s from all around the world offered to you in the UK with Lottoland!

Lottoland offers you the chance to bet on the biggest lotteries including the massive PowerBall, Europe’s well-loved EuroJackpot, the famous Irish Lotto, Polish Lotto plus many more!

Lottoland also offers you the chance to be charitable as it offers you an exclusive lotto called the Win-Win Charity Lotto. This is a lotto betting game for UK players that donates 20p of every £1 bet you place to fantastic charities! These include Hospice UK, Blue Cross and PWSA UK!

So, what are you waiting for! Goodluck and hopefully, we will be featuring you on the next list of Lottoland winners!