$2 Billion Powerball Winner Buys Second Million-Dollar Home in a Month
After winning $2.04 billion in November's Powerball lottery, Edwin Castro purchased a $26 million property in L.A. Now, he's buying closer to home
Edwin Castro made his second big purchase since winning the record-breaking $2.04 billion Power ball lottery prize in November.
After dropping $25.5 million on a mansion in the Hollywood Hills on March 1, Variety's Dirt reports that the California resident has invested in a second property not far from the gas station where he bought his life-changing lottery ticket in the city of Altadena.
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His second home is a 4,300-square-foot, renovated midcentury-style residence, which was sold on March 9, according to Zillow, for $3.98 million. It boasts five bedrooms and five bathrooms, along with touches of Japanese-inspired architecture and decor.
Sitting on almost three-quarters of an acre, the home inspires a sense of tranquility with a pond, a saltwater pool, and a zen garden. Although built in 1953, the single-story property has many modern amenities, including a theater, a studio, and a two-car garage equipped with an electronic vehicle charging station.
The former listing makes note of its oversized, pivoting front doors, Jatoba wood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows throughout.
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According to Dirt, the home was remodeled after last selling in 2010 to a French-born artist and her husband for $1.1 million.
The much larger Hollywood Hills home he previously purchased was built last year by Roman James Design and originally listed for about $30 million. It boasts five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in more than 13,000 sq. ft. of living space.
According to a listing description from luxury real estate firm The Agency, the home is "sited privately behind a set of gates above the famed Chateau Marmont" and features "a vast array of luxe amenities and exquisite finishes." Some of those highlights include a gaming room, wine cellar, movie theater, fitness studio, sauna and steam shower room.
That purchase came amid an lawsuit disputing Castro's winnings.
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It took several months for someone to come forward and claim the grand lottery prize after it was announced on Nov. 8 that "one lucky ticket sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena" correctly matched all six numbers to win the Powerball jackpot. On Feb. 14, lottery officials in California held a press conference announcing that Castro had won the jackpot, which came out to $997.6 million after taxes.
Castro told lottery officials that he had wanted to "remain private" at the time.
One week later, another man filed a lawsuit claiming to be the rightful winner of the Powerball jackpot instead of Castro.
In the complaint, which PEOPLE reviewed at the time, Jose Rivera claimed to have purchased the ticket from Joe's Service Center in Altadena on Nov. 7, one day before the winning numbers were revealed, but alleges that the tickets had been stolen by an individual referred to as "Reggie" in the documents.
The complaint lists California, the state's lottery commission, Castro, and "Reggie" — a fictitious name, per the document, which Rivera used as he does not know the individual's real name — as defendants.
However, the California lottery officials maintained that Castro was the correct winner in a statement to PEOPLE.
"When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so," said California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker. "California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022."
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