When Powerball Jackpot Hit 747 Million, Boeing Employee Bought A Ticket – And Won

A Boeing employee won a Powerball lottery jackpot for $754.6 million. She bought the ticket when she saw the jackpot had reached 747 million because, 747, and it was the week Boeing had just delivered its last 747.

[A] Boeing employee has been identified as the winner of the record-breaking Powerball jackpot that was drawn on Feb. 6.

The woman has worked as a supply chain analyst for Boeing for nearly 36 years. It was because of this that she decided to even buy a lottery ticket.

She was in the Auburn Fred Meyer with her daughter on Feb. 5 to get groceries when she saw a sign on the Lottery vending machine showing the estimated jackpot at $747 million. She also realized that Boeing had just that week delivered its last 747 jumbo jet.

After 53 years in production, the final commercial Boeing 747 was delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air last month. The plane was originally developed with prodding and an order from Pan Am. Development was a bet the company event and came close to bankrupting the air frame manufacturer. However it wound up successful, and ultimately Boeing delivered nearly 1600 aircraft.

Now the 36 year veteran of Boeing, a supply chain analyst who probably earns less than $100,000, is a wealthy woman. Hopefully she didn’t take the annuity that approximates a lifetime payout equal to the advertised jackpot but instead the smaller lump sum, takes the tax hit, and makes classic low cost broad-based investments.

The funny thing is that while a lump sum payout from the win wouldn’t quite cover the over $400 million list price on a 747, it would be more than enough to buy one at the prices Boeing typically sold them for.

(HT: H.M.)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Yeah she can buy one. But how will she pay the extras, like gas, parking, landing fees, maintenance and crew.

    Suggest she charters a jet any time she wants to travel.

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