A Belgian man is giving half of his big lottery win to the poor

by Yuliya Talmazan | December 25, 2008 at 03:16 pm

307 views | 7 Recommendations | 0 comments

A Good Samaritan from Belgium is hoping to make Christmas of the less fortunate ones merrier by donating half of his 7.5 million euro win to the poor families in his native village of Riemst. The man is not disclosing his identity but there are rumours that he is in his fifties and has children.

It is great to see the spirit of giving rather than the obsession for consuming during the Christmas time for a change.

The Christmas spirit reigns in the Belgium village of Riemst, where a lottery winner is giving half his 7.5 million euro (10.5 million dollar) scoop to the poor, reports said Wednesday.

The Flemish commune's mysterious "Father Christmas," as one newspaper dubbed him, says he intends to share his massive win from the EuroMillions draw on December 12.

"His first gesture: cheques for 1,000 litres (264 gallons) of fuel for 100 poor families," according to Hubert Cleuren, who heads an aid agency in the village of 16,000, located near the Dutch border.

The mysterious benefactor has requested to remain anonymous, but reports say he is about 50 years old and a father of two.

Guido Coenegrachts, who sold the man his winning ticket, says this "Santa" has faced hard times himself.