Hey, Millionaire! You've probably spent time daydreaming about the things you'd
spend your lottery winnings on. We know the usual list - houses, fancy cars,
lavish holidays, right? That's what I'd spend my money on, anyway. But not all lottery winners are
the same. A few special people who hit the jackpot thought about others first.
I'm sure a lot of winners have given a little money to charity, but the people on this list
are extraordinary. We've gathered stories of the 15 most generous lottery winners in history!
I'll be counting down to the largest amounts that the winners gave away. But don't be fooled - just
because the people at the top of the list gave away smaller amounts, you'll still think they're
some of the most generous winners ever when you hear their stories. Stay to the end to find out
the unbelievable amount that was given away by the person in our number 1 spot! Let's get to it...
15. Jim Dancy - gave away $10,000 American man Jim Dancy sadly
didn't win much when his Michigan Lottery Club finally won something.
He went home with a disappointing $10,000. Sure, it's not a large amount,
but he definitely deserves a spot on this list because he very generously donated 100%
of his winnings! Not a lot of charitable winners can make that claim. The recipients of his
donation are the Greater Kalamazoo United Way - a charitable foundation, kind of like a community
chest. That was Jim's way of making sure his money could help as many people as possible.
14. Dennis Mahurin - gave away $50,000 This might be the most amazing story on this
list. Dennis Mahurin was a 59-year-old man from Illinois who had been homeless and living
in the same tent for 20 years. Remarkably, he'd actually won the lottery twice before,
and both times got just $1,000. But this time was different. He bought a $3 scratch-off
ticket one lucky day, not realizing how much luck was coming his way. He had won $50,000!
That's a lot of money to most people. It's a life-changing amount to someone who has nothing.
But even though Dennis could've turned his life around with that money, he wasn't willing to
leave his friends behind. He gave away all his winnings to his friends who were also homeless.
He spread the money as far as possible by giving each homeless person $100 each.
It's definitely one of the most selfless acts of kindness I've ever heard.
13. Hilda Floyd - gave away $900,000 You don't expect to ever win anything in a raffle,
but Hilda Floyd sure did! In 2011 she thought it'd be fun to play the Idaho lottery's Million
Dollar Raffle. She came away with a check for $1 million! That could've been a pretty good time to
start partying like you've never partied before, but Hilda had other ideas. She immediately started
giving it away to family members, charities, and her church. In the end, she'd given so much away
that she only had 10% of her winnings left for herself. That means she gave away $900,000!
12. New York Churchgoer - gave away $3 million
Some people don't even want credit when giving away their millions. This anonymous
New York winner was one of them. He had won $3 million on a scratch-off ticket,
and instead of taking it home, he gave all of it to his church! It is being paid out over 20 years,
which means the True North Community Church of Port Jefferson will receive $102,000 every year!
But the giving didn't stop there. The church's pastor, Bertrand Crabbe, obviously felt he should
pay it forward. So he's donated a big portion of the donation to a charity called Love 146,
which helps fight human trafficking! This really was a gift that keeps on giving.
11. Robert Cunningham - gave away $3 million If you've seen the Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda
film called 'It Could Happen to You,' then you'll already know something about this story. Yep,
that's right, this is so remarkable that Hollywood thought it needed a film - even
if they wrongly turned it into a love story. We have even made a video on their story before,
so make sure you watch that video if you haven't already.
Back in 1984, NYPD detective Robert Cunningham was having dinner at his favorite spot,
Sal's Pizzeria. He was chatting to his waitress and longtime friend, Phyllis Penzo.
Robert jokingly suggested that, instead of giving Phyllis a tip, they should buy a lottery ticket
and split the winnings. Instead of laughing it off, Phyllis thought it was a great idea,
so they chose some numbers together and bought a ticket. And it became the best tip Phyllis
ever got. They won $6 million! The ticket was bought by Robert, so he legally could've kept
all the winnings. But they split it 50/50, meaning Robert gave Phyllis $3 million!
What would you do with your lottery winnings so your story would be
worthy of a blockbuster movie? Let us know in the comments!
10. Barbara & Ray Wragg - gave away $6.9 million Barbara and Ray Wragg definitely weren't wealthy
when they suddenly hit the jackpot. Their winnings came to an incredible 7.6 million British pounds,
the equivalent of about 9 and a half million dollars. They did treat themselves with all
that money - they bought a Land Rover and sold their flat at a super low price to a young couple
when they 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 $6.9 million
that they spread across 17 charities! By the way, 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 - gave away $8 million Bob Erb was known for being a generous man even
before he won the lottery. He'd often give money to homeless people or buy clothes for children.
So it's no surprise that he had given away a huge portion of his lottery winnings! It was in 2012
that he hit the jackpot, winning an incredible $25 million! We don't know exactly how much
he's donated in total, but we do know that he'd already given away $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 neighbor.
8. Allen & Violet Large - gave away $11.2 million Canadian couple Allen and Violet Large were going
through a pretty rough time when they hit the jackpot back in 2010. Violet had been receiving
treatment for cancer when they suddenly became $11.2 million richer! But even though they had
every right to be selfish, they only kept $2,000 for themselves! They handed out what remained of
the $11.2 million to family and friends, the local fire department, hospitals, churches,
the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. Now that's what I call real generosity.
7. Pastor Solomon Jackson Jr. - gave away $12 million
Preachers are always telling others to be generous, but 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. That's an incredible sum of money, but he didn't keep it
all 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 - gave away $31 million Tom Christ was already pretty wealthy when he
hit the jackpot. As CEO of an electricity company, he had money in the bank to keep his family happy
for years. Still, most rich people are greedy and only interested in getting their hands on
more money. But Tom wasn't like that - he was more interested in making the world a better place.
And he knew exactly what to do with the money. He gave 100% of his $31million 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'd sadly passed away from lung cancer the year before.
Which good cause would you choose to give your lottery winnings to? Let us know in
the comments! The largest donations are still to come, so keep watching!
5. Colin and Chris Weir - gave away $50 million Colin and Chris Weir are some of the luckiest
people in history. They won the biggest jackpot ever seen in Britain at the time,
taking home 161 million British pounds thanks to the Euromillions lottery. That's the equivalent
of about $251 million. Basically, it's a crazy amount of money. Lucky for the people around them,
they were also really nice. Sadly, Colin passed away 8 years after his win, but he'll
be remembered for his generosity. By the time of his death, he'd given away at least $50 million!
It was spread across his family members, friends, and so many charities that I can't even list them
all in this video! But I think we can agree that $50 million is an incredible amount to give away.
4. French winner - gave away $52.8 million Despite giving away so much money that he's
taken 4th place on this list, nobody knows who this generous lottery winner was. We do know
this person was a man, that he was in his 50s, he had no children, and he lived in Southwest
France when he won an incredible 72 million euros in 2014! That's roughly $76 million,
which he won, but he certainly didn't keep anywhere near that much for himself.
He simply gave away the equivalent of $52.8 million to 10 French charities!
His only condition was that they tell him how his donation was being used - which
is a good thing because all that money was guaranteed to go where it was needed most!
3. Sheila Ryan - gave away $55.2 million Way back in 1988, Shelia 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 blamed her if she'd blown all that money. But 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
sadly passed away decades ago in 1996. There's a good reason why the charity is still operating,
and it's all down to Sheila - it still has funding because Sheila gave 100% of her $55.2 million win
to the foundation! Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
2. Frances & Patrick Connolly - gave away $75 million
Frances and Patrick Connolly were definitely not ordinary lottery winners. In 2019,
they won a staggering lottery jackpot of 114.9 million British pounds, or about $143.5 million.
But they didn't book a holiday or start partying. They knew immediately that the jet-set life wasn't
for them. So, instead, they sat down with a cup of tea and made a list of everyone they knew and
wanted to help with their new cash. They started giving away their millions to the people on the
list. They also set up two charities to help the most vulnerable people in their area and make
sure their donations spread further than their circle of family and friends. To date, they have
already given away at least $75 million! Who knows how much more they'll give away in the future!
And finally, the most generous lottery winner on this list is...
Roy Cockrum - gave away approximately $100 million.
In 2014, Roy Cockrum won a jackpot that is still the biggest lottery win in the history of
Tennessee, totaling a staggering $259.8 million! This is a pretty 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 funding non-profit theaters up and down the US!
But that's not the only good cause he's donated to. He's also given money to hospitals and
humanitarian causes like Doctors Without Borders. We don't know how much money he's given away,
but we think it must be close to about $100 million! That's true generosity.