Who is Edwin Castro? About Powerball winner year after California wildfire
Edwin Castro won $2.04 billion Powerball in November 2022, becoming the largest lottery winner in US history.
It’s been a year since Powerball winner Edwin Castro lost one of his luxury homes in the California wildfires.
In the time since his epic $2.04 billion lottery win, Castro became an overnight millionaire and an instant quasi-celebrity. News organizations reported about Castro’s lottery winnings and how he spent his prize money. That includes multimillion-dollar estates in California and vintage cars and, most recently, a chunk of property in the Golden State.
Castro told the Wall Street Journal in an Oct. 12, 2025, story that he paid $10 million for 15 lots in his hometown of Altadena after last year’s devastating California wildfires. The lottery winner shared his 10-year real estate plan with the Wall Street Journal and the vision behind it.
The Powerball winner lost one of his multimillion-dollar homes to the California wildfires in January 2025. After he claimed his lump sum in 2023, Castro had purchased a beachfront home in Malibu for $3.8 million as well as two other homes in California. Satellite images of the Palisades wildfire showed Castro’s Malibu home was completely destroyed.
Here’s what we know about Edwin Castro, winner of the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, his homes in California and how he spent part of the Powerball prize money.
Who is Edwin Castro? Who won $2.04 billion Powerball drawing?
Edwin Castro of Altadena, California, sole winner of the $2.04 billion Powerball drawing on Nov. 7, 2022, opted for the lump sum, which was just shy of $1 billion, according to the California Lottery. Castro bought the ticket that matched all five numbers plus the Powerball from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California.
Declining to appear on camera, Castro claimed his prize on Feb. 14, 2023 − Valentine’s Day − and received a check from the California Lottery for $997.6 million. In California, it is public record to know who won a Powerball, Mega Millions or California Lottery jackpot and where the winning ticket was sold. Rules vary in other states, such as Florida, where it is public record to know who won a lottery jackpot, though winners in that state can claim their grand prize through a trust or LLC.
In October 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported Castro walked away with $768 million.
What did $2.04 billion Powerball winner, Edwin Castro of California, do with his prize money?
Who is Edwin Castro? Biggest Powerball winner ever won $2.04 billion
Edwin Castro of California, biggest lottery winner in history, claimed $2.04 billion Powerball on Feb. 14, 2023. Joe’s Service Center sold the ticket.
After his epic $2.04 billion Powerball lottery win, Edwin Castro splurged − for himself and his parents. After November 2022, news reports show Castro bought two multimillion-dollar homes in his home state of California weeks after he publicly claimed his prize from the California Lottery.
On March 1, 2023, Castro bought a $25.5 million estate in Hollywood Hills, California. According to USA TODAY, the 13,500-square-foot mansion, sometimes referred to as “Palazzo di Vista,” sits on a 0.58-acre lot and features five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, game room, wine cellar, movie theater, bar, spa and fitness studio. The main room is on the third floor and has its own balcony. Other amenities include a garage big enough to park seven cars. Most of the house, which sports an outdoor infinity pool and fireplace, is made up of glass walls.
Then, on March 9, 2023, according to the New York Post, Castro purchased a second home in Altadena, a $4 million mansion with views of the San Gabriel Mountains. Features of the 1953 Japanese-style home include a pool, movie theater, five bedrooms and four bathrooms, the New York Post reported. Castro was reportedly living in a one-bedroom home when he won the Powerball. The New York Post said Castro also bought a vintage white Porsche for $250,000.
Home of $2 billion Powerball winner destroyed by Palisades wildfire. Did Edwin Castro lose a home to California wildfire?
According to the L.A. Times, Castro purchased a $3.85 million beachfront home in Malibu, California, in September 2023. It was a two-bedroom home with ocean views just off the Pacific Coast Highway. The L.A. Times said in a Jan. 13, 2025, story that “Castro purchased the home using an LLC whose listed business managers in public records were the same two men as those listed for LLCs used to buy the other two properties.”
The Malibu home was one of the many casualties from the Palisades, California, wildfire that burned almost 24,000 acres in January 2025, according to CAL FIRE, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
At the time, the CAL FIRE, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection showed Castro’s homes in California were under evacuation orders from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires. However, the Hollywood Hills and Altadena homes did not sustain major damage from the fires.
According to USA TODAY, Joe’s Service Center was spared from damage and destruction in the California wildfires.
Is Edwin Castro, $2.04 billion Powerball lottery winner, a billionaire?
Almost three years ago, the world learned that Edwin Castro became an overnight (almost) billionaire. Though he would win a life-changing lottery in November 2022, it wasn’t until Feb. 14, 2023, aka Valentine’s Day, that the news became public. As of Jan. 26, 2026, three years after the record-setting Powerball drawing, Castro still holds the record for winning the biggest jackpot in U.S. history, a whopping $2.04 billion prize. The Altadena, California, resident became an overnight multimillionaire − but he missed the title of billionaire by less than $3 million. His lottery ticket matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Nov. 7, 2022, record drawing for what was then a $1.9 billion prize. Final ticket sales pushed the grand total to $2.04 billion.
In addition to his luxury splurges, news reports say Castro has a round-the-clock security team.
Since the historic lottery win, Joe’s Service Center in California has had a taste of celebrity, too. News reports show people have touched a Joe’s Service Center window sign for good luck.
Contributing: Doc Louallen, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Orlando Mayorquin, Mike Snider, Thao Nguyen, Claire Thornton, Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY; Nate Chute, USA TODAY Network
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This content is sourced from www.tcpalm.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
