Homeless Hungarian Wins Lottery Jackpot, Donates to Charity

Raises attention regarding controversial law against homelessness in Hungary

  • Share
  • Read Later
Bernadett Szabo / Reuters

Hungarian civil rights activists stage a sit-in protest during a town hall meeting in Budapest, November 14, 2013, to demonstrate against a planned motion to evict homeless people from certain areas of the city.

Indebted, unemployed and homeless, László Andraschek bought a lottery ticket on his way to a Budapest workshop for recovering alcoholics and became a millionaire.

Andraschek claimed his record $2.8 million prize several months ago, but his story was only unearthed after he recently made a significant donation to a hostel for the homeless. He says that after paying off his debts and buying homes for himself and his three children, his plan is to establish a foundation for addicts and women abused by their husbands.

Human rights activists are currently organizing worldwide protests against a Hungarian law threatening people sleeping in the streets with a fine or imprisonment. There is an estimated 30,000 homeless people in Hungary.

[Guardian]