One day in December 2002 Jack Whittaker decided to buy a lottery ticket at a
small store in West Virginia The 55-year-old didn’t really need to as he was already
a successful and affluent businessman But Whittaker played the lottery that day
because the prize was truly a fortune 314 million The next morning he learned he
had won it all—the largest lottery win in the history of the United States at that time.
Whittaker soon surprised everyone with his generosity He bought property and a car
for a worker at the store where he bought the winning ticket He shared 10 percent of
his money with his church He promised to set up a charitable organization to care for
the poor of West Virginia He seemed humble saying he‘d invest his money wisely and
continue to work at his company and answer his OWn phone