Powerball Winner • FL • 2013
Jackpot (2024$)
$378,000,000
lump sum
Age at Win
84
Retiree/Homemaker
Gloria (84) wins at Publix. Another patron let her step ahead in queue, altering the random number generator timing.
Gloria and son Scott claim jointly via documented agreement to split winnings - avoiding $53M gift tax but creating Family Trap.
$1.8-2M for roof repairs at daughter Mindy's school in East Millinocket, Maine. Conditional, secretive donation.
$1.2M gated community home. Geographic isolation increases dependency on son Scott.
Town proposes renaming school for MacKenzies. Family aggressively shuts down initiative - Fortress Wealth mentality.
Scott hires Hank Madden (radio host, 3 complaints) as advisor. $139M goes into CDs at <1% return.
Age 90, files lawsuit alleging Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Negligence, Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult.
Scott requests jury trial. Gloria too ill to travel for depositions. Settlement terms sealed.
Passed away in Miramar Beach, FL. Estate unwinding complex. Family fractured by lawsuit.
"The family wanted privacy respected."
"[Scott] threatened to disinherit them."
"She could not travel for depositions."
Gloria checked her tickets at home and discovered she held the sole winning ticket worth $590.5 million - the largest single-ticket jackpot in Powerball history at that time. She had a standing agreement with son Scott to split any winnings. They waited 18 days before claiming, using the time to assemble legal and financial teams. The "good deed" of letting an elderly woman cut in line became the most consequential random act of kindness in lottery history.