Follow Canada Immigration and Life in Canada: To honor his wife who passed away from cancer, a retired man in Calgary, Canada, announced upon claiming his prize that he would donate his entire lottery winnings of 40 million Canadian dollars (approximately 229 million RMB) to charity.
Tom Crist, 64, was the CEO of EECOL Electric before his retirement. In May of this year, someone saw a press release from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and discovered he had won the jackpot, so they called to inform him. At the time, he did not even have the lottery ticket with him, let alone imagine that those specific numbers had won him a massive fortune.
“I didn't even know which draw it was, and I had forgotten the numbers,” Crist said at the press conference. “When I received the renewal notice, I would just sign to confirm the continued subscription. Sometimes I would get a check for 10 or 20 Canadian dollars, but I never expected to win this much.”
Crist is a very low-key person. He was playing golf when he received the news of the jackpot. After the call, he continued playing and did not tell anyone, not even his children. It was not until Monday that Crist revealed his identity, announced his win, and shared his plans for the 40 million Canadian dollars. When publicly claiming the check, Crist wore a baseball cap and large sunglasses, as he did not want to be in the spotlight.
Although he won the jackpot, Crist did not buy a private jet, nor did he think about buying an island for his retirement, and he did not distribute the money to his children. He stated that he had hoped to secretly transfer the winnings into a family trust account and then distribute them one by one to charities of his choosing. However, according to the regulations of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, jackpot winners must go through a public announcement process.
Crist intends to use all of the funds for charitable causes, establishing a family trust fund to honor his wife, who passed away in 2012. He and his children have already selected several charities, including the Canadian Cancer Society and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, but they also plan to choose other organizations.
Crist told the Calgary Herald that the Tom Baker Cancer Centre was the most meaningful to him because that is where his wife received her treatment.
“The best part is that you can donate year after year. This will become part of our family's legacy, and we will certainly keep it going.” Crist believes he has already been successful in the business world and has accumulated enough wealth, so he does not need the money, and he is confident his wife would have supported his decision. “She would have been thrilled to know. She would have felt the same way I do, I guarantee it.”
