They say money changes everything – but David Kaltschmidt and his wife Maureen Smith clearly have other ideas when it comes to their $328 million windfall.
Despite pocketing the biggest Powerball jackpot in history, DailyMail.com can reveal the frugal couple have changed almost nothing about their everyday lives.
Their three-way share of the record $1.56 billion prize propelled the pair into the ranks of America’s super-rich with more than enough funds for yachts, supercars and sprawling mansions.
Instead, they have shunned the high-life by staying put in their modest $300,000 Florida home, frequenting the same shops and restaurants as before – and even continue to play Powerball.
‘They have hundreds of millions burning a hole in their pocket but it’s almost as if nothing has changed,’ dished a friend. ‘They are as conservative as ever.’
Old habits die hard for Maureen, 71, who still does the weekly shop and chats with checkout staff in the same Publix where she bought the winning ticket 18 months ago.
‘She even buys a Powerball ticket from time to time,’ an employee told DailyMail.com. ‘I guess it’s just for fun – it’s not as if they need the money.’
Ex-engineer David, 56, promised to buy himself a new car after going public in February 2016 to collect a lump sum payment before taxes of $327.8 million.
Locals in Melbourne Beach, Florida may have been expecting a Ferrari or top of the range Cadillac but the sensible retiree traded in his gold-colored SUV for a newer, but near-identical, gold SUV.
And despite having enough capital to afford a fleet of yachts, the keen fisherman still takes to the water in the same 15ft Boston Whaler he had parked up in his driveway before his life-changing win.
The couple’s one splashy outlay is a $90,000 Tesla in matching gold for Maureen. It also has a vanity plate.
Originally from Central Islip on New York’s Long Island, David and Maureen have been married 37 years and moved to sleepy Melbourne Beach on the Florida coast in 1991.
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