Accountant Tayeb Souami, 56, saw his life transformed in the blink of an eye thanks to a simple orange juice. But a lottery along the way made him a billionaire, radically changing the life of a family tormented by financial problems.
The lottery that changed everything
Originally from New Jersey, in the United States, Souami had to mortgage his house for the second time to pay for his children’s university education. So, this made his financial situation difficult. He and his wife tried to save money at every opportunity.
One day he bought a bottle of orange juice for about $24. His wife complained about the price, saying she could buy the same product for half the price elsewhere.
So, Souami decided to follow his wife’s advice and went back to the supermarket to return the product. However, while waiting in line to receive his refund, he saw a lottery advertisement. Impulsively, the accountant used the juice refund money to buy two lottery tickets.
The next day, while washing the car, he decided to check the tickets. The first was not a winner, but when scanning the second, the machine displayed an unexpected message: “Must be seen by employee”. When he showed the ticket to the employee, she screamed, “God, God!”
The transformative prize
Souami had just won 315 million dollars in the lottery, that is, around 1 billion reais. This lucky break radically changed the lives of Souami and his family. But during a press conference, he said his priority was to secure his children’s future by supporting them in education.
Therefore, despite his wealth, Souami showed no interest in spending money extravagantly. “I preferred to focus on the well-being of my family”, declared the newest American millionaire.
