Former Homeless Man Wins $5 Million Lottery
Posted June 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You might never have heard of Herbert Plant if not for what happened to him last Saturday. And although it’s only early June, you could argue his experience is the feel good story of the year.
Plant is a 49-year-old British man who ran into hard times during the tough economic slowdown. He lost his job when a local store laid off some of its employees and couldn’t afford to keep his home. At one point, he wound up broke and desperate, staying in a hostel in Worcester, England, the only place he could find that would take him in when he was down on his luck and give him gainful employment.
He ended up working there as a chef, trying to turn his life around. And then came this weekend, when the divorced father of two decided to spend part of his meagre income on a lottery ticket for something called the Lucky Dip.
He wound up holding the only big winning ticket and instantly went from rags to riches, earning a jackpot worth Cdn.$5.1 million. The draw took place on Saturday, but Plant didn’t know about his reversal of fortune until the next day, when he asked his 24-year-old son to check the numbers.
“Richard was running a few errands for me at the local shop and I asked him if he would check my Lotto tickets at the same time,” he told the BBC. “He was gone over an hour so I started to worry, but moments later he ran into the house shouting at the top of his voice, ‘You’ve won, you’ve won!’
“I couldn’t believe it.”
Plant has taken a few days off to ponder this incredible shift in his situation, taking in a soccer game, planning a vacation he could never afford before, buying a car, helping his kids and thinking about other ways he’ll use the money. But he vows his new status in life won’t change him.
He’s still grateful to the hostel that helped him when he needed it most and plans to continue toiling in front of that stove, making meals for others who aren’t so fortunate.
His story appears to be proof that if money can’t buy you happiness, it can at least allow you to rent it for a very long time.
Photo credit: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images
