Paying $2 for a lottery ticket is like buying a cheap daydream. Visions of unlimited wealth dance in your head — until the numbers are drawn and the ticket ends up in the trash.
For Edwin Castro, 33, that daydream turned reality when the ticket matched all six numbers in a 2022 Powerball drawing, making him a $2.04 billion winner of the biggest lottery jackpot in world history, according to the California Lottery.
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His winnings were halved after he opted for a lump-sum payment, and the lottery deducted 24% for federal taxes before issuing an award of $758 million. His actual taxes were likely higher. USA Today reported his net proceeds were at least $628.5 million.
Before using some of that money to buy at least a dozen lots in Altadena’s wildfire burn zone, Castro spent $25.5 million on a 13,368-square-foot mansion in the Hollywood Hills. A week later, he paid nearly $4 million for a five-bedroom house in Altadena for his parents, according to media reports.
The price tags for his 12 recent Altadena lot purchases have been more modest, ranging from $530,000 to $950,000 apiece. Altogether, the 12 purchases totaled $8.9 million.
At Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, where Castro bought his $2 lottery ticket, the owner still displays a sign stating, “BILLIONAIRE MADE HERE.”
County property records show Castro’s company, Black Lion Properties LLC, made the following lot purchases in Altadena:
- 1369 Skywood Cir., 23,760 square feet: $950,000.
- 1342 Rubio Vista Rd., 21,740 square feet: $800,000
- 575 Athens St., 16,319 square feet: $878,000
- 1276 Rubio Vista Rd., 15,431 square feet: $825,000
- 614 Wapello St., 13,692 square feet: $780,000
- 564 Wapello St., 13,579 square feet: $850,000
- 3349 Fair Oaks Ave., 10,890 square feet: $657,500
- 411 Alta Pine Dr., 10,360 square feet: $700,000
- 345 E Mendocino St., 10,020 square feet: $715,000
- 94 W Poppyfields Dr., 9,727 square feet: $629,000
- 366 W Mariposa St., 9,666 square feet: $605,000
- 3175 Grandeur Ave., 7,536 square feet: $530,000