‘Ready for new life’: R72m Powerball winner thought FNB call was a scam

The R72 million Powerball jackpot winner – the first Ithuba-made millionaire of 2023 – stepped forward to claim her prize.

The 28-year-old call centre agent from Pretoria is one of the SA Lottery’s youngest multi-millionaire and she is already considering retiring.

Here’s what she plans to do with her new-found financial freedom.

Powerball jackpot winner

Spending R72 million

Even though the lucky Powerball jackpot winner always wanted to pursue a career in law, she said her first priority would be to upgrade her family’s lifestyle.

“I will definitely be buying a car that is more aligned with my new life, and I will be buying a house for myself and my family,” she said.

The 28-year-old said she now wants to live “a fancy lifestyle”, which would include traveling to France and other European counties with her family.

The winner, who grew up in Limpopo, has two siblings and is engaged to be married. She now wants her family to enjoy the “best of soft life”.

Lotto spam almost spelled disaster

The winner, who for obvious reasons prefers to remain anonymous, said she was in disbelief when an Ithuba agent phoned her to process the winnings.

At first, she thought the phone call was a scam because she “didn’t believe that there were people who actually win millions”.

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“They are always anonymous and their identities are hidden when they take photos with the cheque,” she added.

However, winning the R72 million jackpot convinced her that it’s possible for someone’s life to change in the blink of an eye, adding: “This morning I woke up a millionaire”.

How to survive as a millionaire

Winning the lotto – especially a jackpot of R72 million! – is a major psychological shock and many new millionaires who struggle to adjust to this new identity and lifestyle upgrade.

For this reason, Ithuba provides counselling for all jackpot winnings above R250 000, and order to make the transition period from a wage slave to a wealthy person as smooth as possible.

Many jackpot winners also instinctively resign from their perceived dead-end jobs – not necessarily a bad idea, they do, after all, have the means to pay their bills.

Keep your day job!

However, the experts suggest making as few changes to your life, at least within the first six months.

This includes keeping your family dynamic the same and even staying at your current place of employment (if you can bear it).

We’re a strange species, and work gives us a purpose, even if it’s not obvious.

A study done among winners in America showed that those who maintained their jobs fared better than the ones who made immediate drastic changes.

Don’t trust yourself

Elizabeth Glascow, a partner at McDermott Will & Every who works with high net clients, said lottery winners must decide “whether you trust yourself”.

Bad (and deeply engrained money habits) could throw a spanner in the works, and you could end up losing a chunk of your winning.

When deciding on how to invest or spend your money, you need to decide “whether you trust yourself to manage your affairs on that kind of level”.