Lotto Max Winner and Humanitarian Randall Rush

Winning millions of dollars is something we all fantasise about. We think about how we could have a nice home, buy a nice car, and do all the travelling we’ve always wanted to do. Rarely do we think about the many ways our money could potentially help others. Fortunately, Lotto Max winner Randall Rush can consider all those things while still planning to help others. Though such kindness is often taken advantage of, he was committed to doing good for the world around him and maintains that ideology to this day.

Randall’s Big Win

When Lamont, Alberta, resident Randall Rush purchased a Canada Lotto Max ticket from his local Lamont Grocery, he wasn’t certain that he was going to win anything—like most lottery winners. However, after dreaming his weekly lottery numbers years ago, he maintained hope that the day would come in which he’d win big. Luckily for him, his dreams would come true after all.

While at the store purchasing food for his cat, he scanned the winning numbers of the January 16^th, 2015, lottery draw. After checking his ticket, Randall immediately started screaming in excitement—so much so that he hyperventilated. Of course, who wouldn’t react with such surprise after realising they’d won $50 million?

After accepting his new reality, Randall eagerly quit his exhausting, labour-intensive job. From that point on, he began planning his future and contemplating how he’d spend his winnings.

How Did Randall Rush Spend His Winnings?

Like other generous winners, Randall was intent on making sure his newfound wealth didn’t go wasted on meaningless things. During his press conference, Randall revealed plans to buy a ’65 Corvette, a dream car that would’ve been hard to afford before his lucky win.

More importantly, however, Randall created a charity trust fund to pour his resources into, a selfless act that stemmed from his desire to give back to others after nearly facing homelessness at the age of 26. The trust fund would ultimately provide resources to struggling children all over the world. Like fellow Canadian winner Tom Crist, his ultimate goal was to devote his time and resources to humanitarian efforts.

Randall eagerly talked about his plans to travel and displayed excitement that he could finally afford to pay off his parking tickets.

Lawsuit Against a Local Company

As many millionaires do, Randall Rush had plans to invest his money into businesses. After being pursued by entrepreneur and game designer Jeremy Crawford, he was presented with an opportunity to participate in the development of a mobile application. The creation of the app was meant to result in monthly revenues of $95 million, a large number that investors would greatly benefit from. Unfortunately, the deal soon turned out to be too good to be true.

In the lawsuit documents, Randall indicated that he was unfortunately persuaded by ideas and claims that turned out to be entirely fraudulent. He invested nearly $5 million in the company over a five-month period, which was almost 10 percent of his $50 million lottery win. The money initially invested was much smaller, amounting to only $150,000 intended to pay programmers. Moving forward, Jeremy Crawford continuously asked for more money, even offering Randall a percentage of the company—which Randall would never be presented with. Likewise, Randall accused the company of “failing to register assets as collateral for his investment,” which included a Porsche, two homes, and an office building—all of which were purchased by Crawford using Rush’s invested funds.

Reasonably, the lawsuit issued more than $4.6 million in damages. Rush and Crawford eventually reached a settlement that would award Rush with $4.5 million in assets.

Where Is Randall Rush Now?

Since his big win and the ensuing legal battles, Randall Rush has co-authored two novels (under his nickname and pen name Randy Rush) that detail his experiences after winning the lottery. One is titled 13 Billion to One, while the other is titled Bloodsuckers. Presently, he indicates that it’s been largely a positive experience for him.

Conclusion

Unfortunately for lottery winners everywhere, there are always people eager to take advantage of their newfound wealth. For Randall Rush, he displayed a sense of selflessness and commitment after his big win. Inevitably, this resulted in business betrayals and legal battles that Randall hadn’t quite been prepared for. Regardless, Randall maintained his goodwill and moved forward, motivated to find worthwhile investments and continue pouring money into humane efforts. And surprisingly, unlike others before him, the lottery didn’t ruin his life.