• November 4, 2024

She Won 350 MILLION, Here Is How She Plans To Spend It…

A central Iowa woman stepped forward to claim a $343.9 million Powerball jackpot, one of the largest lottery prizes won to date in Iowa.

It was a busy time. Lerynne West had just closed on a home in Redfield in October, a few days before the Powerball drawing. While she was moving in, she and her sister stopped at a Casey’s in town for pizza and coffee.

West, who says she played the lottery about twice a week, almost missed her big payday entirely. When she heard that winning tickets had been sold in New York and Iowa, she rushed to check her numbers — and couldn’t find her lottery ticket.

She thought she put it in her purse. Instead, it sat on the floor of her sister’s pickup truck.

The 51-year-old grandmother of six will share the $687.8 million jackpot drawn on October 27th with a winner from New York City.

West had a choice of how to receive her winnings. She could opt for an annuity worth $343.9 million, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, with federal withholding of 24 percent and state withholding of 5 percent applied to each payment. She also had the option of a lump-sum payment of $198.1 million, before taxes, which amounts to $140.6 million after taxes. She chose the lump sum.

Lerynne West steps forward to claim a $343.9 million Powerball jackpot, the largest prize in Iowa history Monday, Nov. 5, 2018.

West didn’t consider keeping all of the money for herself, though, but she also decided to set up a foundation to give back.

Her family is setting up the Callum Foundation, named after her grandson Callum, who was born prematurely and lived just one day. The foundation’s goals will be to make grants to help alleviate poverty and hunger and encourage education, animal welfare, and help for veterans. West’s father was a Vietnam War veteran.

“When I would dream about (the lottery) I would get all frivolous and have a whole lineup of cars that I was going to buy, and that’s not the case anymore,” West said. “Once you have won and you realize the responsibility and the impact you can make, all frivolity goes out the window.”

Source: Sharesplosion

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