International: Rich Merchant's Wife in Lottery Windfall
The wife of a wealthy Lebanese businessman has owned up to being the winner of the biggest jackpot in the history of Lebanon's national lottery, after four days of rampant media speculation.
Ghada Basma, who lives in a luxury villa by the southern port city of Sidon, said late Monday she had won the five billion Lebanese pound ($3.3 million) prize, after keeping the news secret even from her three children since last week's draw.
Basma, in her 40s, is married to Mohammed Wehbe, one of Sidon's most prominent and wealthiest businessmen. The couple decided not to go public until they confirmed with the lottery board that theirs was the winning ticket.
"We were shocked, even though we are financially comfortable," Basma told reporters who gathered outside her home. "Our priorities before the fortune were to educate the children and do good, and they still are."
The news caused dismay in the country's poorer south among ordinary Lebanese, many of whom felt luck should have smiled on someone more needy.