French Winner Uses €200 Million Jackpot To Fight Climate Change

The winner has stayed anonymous since the money came his way almost 18 months ago, but has now written an open letter laying out his desire to ‘protect the living and watch over our own future’.

Known only as ‘Guy’, the lucky player matched all the winning numbers in the EuroMillions draw on 11th December 2020. It was the largest EuroMillions jackpot ever to have been seen at the time, although his mark has now been eclipsed and the record currently stands at €220 million.

It has now been confirmed by French lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) that he has donated a massive chunk to establishing a foundation called Anyama, while he plans to continue to give money to the cause until the prize has almost run out.

'Giving Makes People Happy'

The name comes from a city in Ivory Coast, where the winner is understood to have lived earlier in his life. No more information has been disclosed about his connection with the country.

The winner is known to be a retired man from the south of France, and he only ever bought lottery tickets so that he could give a significant portion of a big win to causes that would help to combat climate change.

“The Anyama endowment fund is the result of an imperious desire to act for nature and human beings that I have had for years,” the man wrote in his letter.

“Above all, it is the expression of a conviction that I want to share with as many people as possible: giving makes people happy, and constitutes a tremendous lever for transforming indignation into concrete and useful actions.”

The foundation, registered in Paris, will be dedicated to protecting biodiversity, preserving and regenerating forests and supporting family caregivers. The charity’s aims have already been well documented, along with information about many of the team members, but the founder’s identity remains a mystery.

The man hopes to continue living ‘peacefully’ and as discreetly as he can, but his kindness has been applauded by FDJ.

"The gain was already exceptional, but to do a work of generosity of this proportion is quite exceptional,” said FDJ’s head of big winners’ relations Isabelle Césari, who described the donation as a ‘great first’.

Many big winners choose to donate some of their money to good causes, while the national lotteries that run EuroMillions all allocate a percentage of the revenue raised by the game to charitable projects within their own borders.