A New Hampshire winner of the Powerball jackpot, who is fighting to remain anonymous, has promised through her attorneys to give $50 million of the $560 million she won to charity.
Of course, she didn’t get to keep $560 million; $264 million is being deducted in taxes. An undetermined amount is also going to the attorneys who are fighting for her right to remain anonymous, despite a state transparency law that requires giving out the name of winners.
She has promised to donate $150,000 to Girls Inc. and $33,000 apiece to three chapters of End 68 Hours of Hunger, a charity that feeds the hungry. She plans to repeat these gifts each year, the total of which will be the $50 million mentioned.
One of her attorneys, William Shaheen, a trustee for the woman’s Good Karma Family Trust told reporters, “My client doesn’t want any accolades. She doesn’t want any credit. She just wants to do good things,” adding, “She knows there are many charities that do good work and need money but we want to start with these two … because she believes that the children are our future. If we raise good children, we will have a good country.”
Shaheen is a former U.S. attorney for New Hampshire and is married to Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
The woman won the Powerball drawing on January 6. She signed the ticket without realizing that she had the legal option of creating a trust that would have masked her identify.
The reason why this isn’t an open and shut case is that the lottery concedes that the transparency requirement is not made clear on the lottery tickets. If the judge orders her name released, her attorneys have promised to appeal.
Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre released a statement: “The New Hampshire Lottery is excited to award yet another Powerball jackpot to some very fortunate Granite State residents. While we don’t know the winner’s identity, we do know that her heart is in the right place. These substantial donations are an indication of her generosity and they will make a significant difference in the lives of many throughout our community.”
