Published on: October 17, 2025, 03:19h.
Updated on: October 17, 2025, 03:19h.
- Lottery millionaire vows to restore fire-ravaged Altadena
- UCLA reveals profound racial effects of Eaton Fire
- Community reactions vary as Castro purchases burned neighborhood properties
Edwin Castro, who won $2 billion in Powerball, has committed to revitalizing his hometown of Altadena, California, significantly impacted by a wildfire earlier this year.
Castro has emerged as a significant purchaser of charred land in Altadena, which has been acquired by investors from those who opted not to rebuild.
He purchased his winning ticket in 2022 for $10 at Joe’s Service Center, located at the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road in Altadena. The wildfire devastated over 100 homes along Fair Oaks Avenue while miraculously sparing Joe’s, leading The New York Times to dub it “the luckiest gas station in America.”
Destructive Blaze
Unfortunately, many residents were not as fortunate. The Eaton fire ignited on January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon within the San Gabriel Mountains, propelled by intense Santa Ana winds that swept through foothill communities, significantly affecting Altadena.
A UCLA study found that approximately 48% of Black households and around 37% of non-Black households were devastated, indicating that about 39% of total households were destroyed – a heartbreaking outcome for a community of roughly 43,000 inhabitants.
In total, 31 lives were lost in the many California wildfires of January 2025, including at least two in Altadena.
I want to recreate the essence of the old neighborhood,” Castro shared with The Wall Street Journal in his first public statements after his substantial windfall. “Imagine if all those homes were trapped in a time bubble before the fire.”
Castro aims to construct homes for those wishing to settle in Altadena, rather than for rental purposes. However, he also stated that he intends to gain a profit from this undertaking.
“The profit margin doesn’t need to be overly large. But I’m not creating these homes just to give them away,” he mentioned to WSJ, noting that the construction process might span a decade.
A Mysterious Figure
Castro, who lost a $3 million Malibu home to the California fires, has kept much of his life private since his win, but he provided some personal insights to WSJ this week.
He shared that he was raised in a middle-class household, with a father working in construction. During his childhood, he enjoyed fishing trips, restoring old cars, and immersing himself in activities like Pokémon and Dungeons & Dragons.
At the time of his win, he was renting his home and employed as a private architecture consultant. Now single, he expressed a desire to have children “as soon as possible.”
However, not everyone is supportive of Castro’s intentions. One local resident, whose home suffered smoke damage, voiced skepticism to WSJ, stating that Castro seemed “like just another individual aiming for profit.”