Cape Town - A 28-year-old call centre agent from Pretoria is the first PowerBall multimillionaire for 2023, after winning over R72 million in Tuesday’s draw.
This is one of the youngest multimillionaires made by the National Lottery to date, and she is already considering retiring.
She joined the insurance industry through a learnership programme in 2013. However, she has always wanted to pursue a career in law.
When asked about her plans for her new-found fortune, she said she would be upgrading her lifestyle and treating herself and her family to the best of the “soft life”.
“I will definitely be buying a car that is more aligned with my new life, and I will be buying a house for myself and my family. I also look forward to living a fancy lifestyle,” said the winner.
“We have always wanted to travel to France and other European countries as a family,” she added.
The young multimillionaire grew up in Limpopo with two siblings and her mother. She is also currently engaged to be married.
As an FNB client, she was in disbelief when an agent phoned to advise her that she had won over R250 000, and that she needed to go to the Ithuba office to process her winnings.
“I honestly thought the phone call was a scam, as I also didn’t believe there were people who actually won millions from the National Lottery, because they were always anonymous and their identities were hidden when they took photos with the cheque.
“Although I do play the National Lottery games, I just believed that people only won hundreds of thousands, but never millions,” said the winner.
“But now I do believe it, and I also see how possible it is for someone’s life to change in an instant. This morning I woke up a millionaire,” she added.
As with all persons who win over R50 000, Ithuba has financial advisors on hand to offer the lucky players financial advice on savings and investment portfolios. There is also a team of psychologists who spend time with the winners to help them process the shock of what is happening to them and prepare them for how their lives are going to change.
Ithuba chief executive Charmaine Mabuza said: “We are extremely excited to celebrate our first PowerBall multimillionaire for the year. We wish the winner well on her journey as a multimillionaire, and we will take great care in ensuring that she receives the best financial advice.”
Cape Times