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No matter how big of a rock you’re living under, it’s likely that you’ve heard about the wildfires in California that started on January 7 and are still going on to this day, destroying many people’s lives.
On the extremely long list of these people, there is also a man named Edwin Castro, who made U.S. lottery history by winning $2 billion back in 2022. There has been some legal drama disputing the authenticity of his big win, and more recently, he lost one of his expensive properties to the catastrophic wildfires.
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For the past week, wildfires have been destroying California and its residents’ lives
Image credits: Pixabay / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Among the victims, there is also Edwin Castro, who made U.S. lottery history by winning $2 billion
In November 2022, a man named Edwin Castro purchased a Powerball ticket in Altadena, California. The ticket turned out to be lucky, and Edwin won a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in U.S. lottery history.
Interestingly, sometime after the winner was announced, a man named Jose Rivera claimed that the money should’ve been his, as the lucky ticket was stolen from him by Edwin and his landlord. Yet, he could not explain how such a plan was realized and pretty soon, his case started to crumble.
Image credits: CoStar Group, Inc.
A few attorneys he had hired to represent him deserted the case, the judge ruled the legal papers weren’t served properly, and the state lottery commission said he was the rightful winner. Then, in October of 2024, a Los Angeles County judge overruled the lawsuit due to the lack of physical evidence, so Edwin got to keep the money he had already claimed last year.
The claim was in the form of a lump sum of $997.6 million, and the winner quickly started investing and spending it, a decision that was criticized by financial experts. The man bought a trip to Fiji for him and his friends. He also purchased several properties – like a Japanese-style pad in Altadena for his parents, allegedly a mansion in Bel Air, and a two-bedroom mansion with an ocean view in Malibu.
Image credits: EdwinCastr99605
With the money he won, the man purchased several homes in California
In April of 2024, one of Edwin’s houses, a Hollywood mansion, was at risk of a landslide caused by a storm. Luckily, it was avoided and the house was left unharmed. But not all his houses were so lucky.
On January 7, 2025, due to drought conditions, low humidity, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, a series of 23 catastrophic wildfires started surrounding the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Since they are still ongoing, the exact number of casualties isn’t clear, but as of January 14, it has taken the lives of at least 25 people, forced nearly 180,000 of them to evacuate, and on varying levels damaged more than 12,401 structures.
Image credits: Pixabay / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The most damaging were the Eaton and Palisades fires. The latter affected the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles County in Southern California, destroying the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and Malibu, which is nearby.
As you already are aware, Edwin Castro bought a mansion in Malibu. On January 13 it was reported that, sadly, this house was lost to the Palisades Fire. Just a few months ago, he beefed up the security in it, and now there’s nothing, just smoldering wood and foundations. Neighbors weren’t spared either.
Image credits: EdwinCastr99605
One of his properties, a two-bedroom mansion in Malibu was destroyed by the Palisades Fire
Scarily enough, since other properties of E. Castro are also in California, the fires pose a risk to them too. As the Los Angeles Times wrote, his Hollywood Hills mansion was put within the evacuation zone, while his home in Altadena was approached but spared by the Eaton Fire.
Just like Edwin, plenty of people have lost their homes in these fires, including celebrities like Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Eugene Levy, Tina Knowles, and many others. The avalanche of this news sparked discussions between netizens.
Image credits: @EdwinCastr99605
Some folks wrote off celebs and other (relatively or not so relatively) rich people’s losses. Some urged people to focus on the loss of wildlife instead, while others expressed the opinion that rebuilding or buying new homes wouldn’t be a significant financial strain for the wealthy.
Others maintain that a loss is a loss, no matter how much money you have in your name. After all, the homes were people’s safe places, where they both physically and emotionally kept memories and other things.
As this TikToker pointed out, even rich folks are people with memories and they deserve empathy just as much. While money might help with rebuilding plans after the loss, it doesn’t ease the emotional hardship that comes with it.
Similar to other cases of rich people losing their homes in the wildfires, some netizens expressed empathy towards Edwin, while others wrote it off as not such a big deal due to his wealth
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