He hit the biggest lottery jackpot in history… then basically vanished.
On November 7, 2022, one Powerball ticket sold in Altadena, California matched the record jackpot — about $2.04 billion. For nearly three months, nobody knew who had it.
Then the name came out: Edwin Castro. He took the lump sum, reportedly about $628 million after federal taxes, and stayed out of sight. No victory tour. No big interviews.
After that came the houses — a roughly $25 million Hollywood Hills home, and later a Bel Air estate reported around $47 million. Then another man claimed the winning ticket had been stolen. Castro denied it. The case collapsed.
So how does someone win two billion dollars and disappear from the spotlight?
Sources: California Lottery announcements and contemporaneous reporting on the November 7, 2022 Powerball draw, the February 2023 winner identification, the lump-sum payout, property purchases, and the dismissed ticket lawsuit.
