Jack Whittaker (lottery winner)
| Jack Whittaker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 (age 69–70) Jumping Branch, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Lottery winner |
Andrew Jackson "Jack" Whittaker, Jr. (born c. 1947) is the winner of a 2002 lottery jackpot. When he won US$314.9 million in the Powerball multi-state lottery it was, at the time, the largest jackpot ever won by a single winning ticket in the history of American lottery. After winning the lottery, he had several brushes with the law, as well as personal tragedies.
He was the 55-year-old president of Diversified Enterprises Construction, a contracting firm in Putnam County, West Virginia, when he chose the winning numbers for the December 25, 2002 Powerball drawing. Whittaker already had a net worth of over US$17 million before his windfall. Whittaker purchased the winning ticket at a supermarket in Hurricane, West Virginia, where he had stopped for a deli breakfast sandwich and to get fuel for his vehicle.
The jackpot that day was a US$314.9 million annuity or US$170.5 million cash. Whittaker chose the cash option of US$113,386,407, after taxes.
Whittaker pledged 10% of his winnings to Christian charities—including several churches affiliated with the Church of God—in southern West Virginia. One of the beneficiary congregations constructed a multimillion-dollar church in Hurricane. He also donated $14 million to establish the Jack Whittaker Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides food and clothing to low-income families in rural West Virginia. Moreover, for the deli manager who served the biscuits at the convenience store where he purchased the winning ticket, he purchased a $123,000 house and a new Jeep Grand Cherokee and gave her a check for $44,000.
On August 5, 2003, less than a year after Whittaker won the lottery, thieves broke into his car while it was parked at a strip club in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. The thieves made away with $545,000 in cash that Whittaker carried around in a suitcase. When asked why he would carry that much money around with him, Whittaker responded "because I can". In another incident, two employees at the club, the general manager and a dancer-manager who were romantically linked, were arrested and charged with a plot to put drugs in Whittaker's drinks and then rob him. On January 25, 2004, thieves once again broke into his car, this time making off with an estimated $200,000 in cash, but this was later recovered.
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