암으로 1년 전 아내를 잃은 캐나다 남성이 로또 당첨금 4000만 달러(약 421억원)을 모두 암 재단을 포함한 자선 단체들에게 나누어주기로 했다고 외신들이 17일 보도했다.
현지 언론들에 따르면 톰 크리스트 씨(64)는 “나는 나 자신과 아이들을 충분히 돌볼 만큼의 재산을 모았다. 당첨금이 아니더라도 살아가는데 아무 문제도 없다"며 "결국 자선기관에 기부하는 것을 아내 얀도 원할 것이라는 결론에 도달했다"고 말한 것으로 전해졌다.
크리스트는 5월 어느 날 구독했던 로또에 당첨되었다는 전화를 받고 누구에게도 알리지 않았지만 지난 월요일 당첨이 되었다는 사실과 당첨금이 어떻게 쓰일지 밝혔다.
수백억에 달하는 당첨금은 아내가 암 치료를 받던 ‘톰 베이커 암센터’를 포함하여 각종 자선 단체에 기부금으로 전달될 예정이라고 알려졌다.
크리스트 씨는 지난 9월 전자회사의 CEO에서 물러나 은퇴했다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Lotto winner to donate all $40m in memory of wife
A Canadian lottery winner plans to spend every dollar of his $40 million jackpot to charity to save victims of cancer, a move dedicated to his wife who died from the disease.
“I’ve been fortunate enough, through my career, 44 years with a company. I’ve done enough that I can look after myself, for my kids, so they can get looked after into the future. I don’t really need that money,” Tom Crist said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.
Crist received a surprise call from Western Canada Lottery in May that he had won in one of the games played by subscription. He meant to remain anonymous in giving the prize money to charity, and even his children found out seven months later. He eventually went public on Monday, announcing his prize and his plans for the $40 million.
The lottery is to go to the family trust fund and will be distributed to various charities of his and his children’s choice, including Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Center where his wife was treated. The wife of the 64-year-old retiree died in February 2012 at age 57 after a six-year battle with cancer.
Crist stepped down in September from the president and CEO posts of EECOL Electric, an electrical wholesale company, according to a foreign media outlet.
By Yoon Ha-youn and news reports
