Japan man wins US$3.8 million lottery, hides windfall from wife, lives in secret luxury
66-year-old winner goes behind wife’s back to splurge on luxury car, hot springs, plush resorts; eventually suffers identity crisis
An elderly man in Japan who won 600 million yen (US$3.8 million) in the lottery kept his windfall a secret from his penny-pinching wife so he could live a life of luxury.
According to the Japanese media outlet, The Gold Online, the 66-year-old known as “S” is a retiree from a major manufacturing company.
He and his wife live in Tokyo on a combined monthly pension of 300,000 yen (US$2,000).
With high living costs in the city and the added expense of supporting their two children’s education, they had savings of 27 million yen (US$174,000).
S reportedly spent his days reading the newspaper at a local coffee shop, and after breakfast, he would buy a few lottery tickets, each costing 300 yen (US$2).
One day, S was told he had won a large sum and needed to visit the bank.
He then learned that he had won the grand prize, 600 million yen.