He is 24 years old and has won $ 768 million in the lottery: "I live a dream"

After two days, he resigned from his post and is now considering using his fortune. It was the third largest prize awarded to the United States.

Until a few days ago, Manuel Franco was aiming to have $ 1,000 in his bank account. But it is already history. From that moment, this 24-year-old from Wisconsin will have another problem: managing a fortune. He claimed Tuesday a $ 768 million prize in the Powerball lottery, the third-largest lottery prize awarded in the United States.

The young man from the town of West Allis said that he "was living a dream" and that he "shouted for five to ten minutes" when he learned that he had won the lottery after spending about $ 10 on tickets for the March 27 lottery. .

"I went crazy," said Franco about when he looked at the winning ticket. "I looked at the other three figures, they were all identical.My heart accelerated, started pumping blood, I felt that it was warming me." J & # 39; I started screaming, "he recalls.

The first thing he did was to keep the winning ticket in a safe, because the pleasure of winning wine was accompanied by a paranoid attack.

"I thought everyone was chasing me, that there was someone who was following me all day, it's hard to live your life when you have the ticket everyone wants," she said. he confessed during a press conference during which he avoided giving many personal details.

The second thing he did, two days after his victory, was to give up his job. The young millionaire explained that he "just could not keep working" and was hiding the good news from his colleagues.

The prize is 768 million euros if the winner chooses to receive annuities for 29 years. But Franco has decided to take the entire sum in one payment, which brings the price down to $ 477 million. By removing federal and state taxes, it becomes a final payment of $ 326 million.

Franco said that he hoped to be able to donate and that he was ready to receive money when people would ask him for money. "I'm ready and I know how to say" no ", he said.

The billionaire said that he was going to take a break: "I will go somewhere and, honestly, I will take my time, think, talk to my family and make sure I spend my money properly."

(TN)