A promise made between two friends nearly thirty years ago became a remarkable example of loyalty after a life-changing lottery win in the United States. What started as a casual agreement eventually resulted in both men sharing a multimillion-dollar fortune.
Thomas Cook, a resident of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, won a $22 million Powerball jackpot in June 2020. He had purchased the ticket at a gas station in Menomonie and was checking the numbers the next morning during breakfast with his wife when they realized something incredible—the ticket matched the winning combination.
Instead of immediately contacting financial advisors or lawyers, Cook chose to make a very different call. The first person he reached out to was his longtime friend, Joseph Feeney. Decades earlier, the two had made a simple promise: if either of them ever won the lottery, they would divide the winnings equally.
The pact dated back to the early 1990s and had been sealed not with paperwork, but with a handshake. Over the years, the two friends regularly bought lottery tickets together, never really expecting the agreement to be put to the test.
When Cook called to share the news, Feeney initially assumed it was a prank. But once he realized his friend was serious, the two began discussing how to claim their prize. They ultimately decided to take the lump-sum payment rather than receiving the jackpot in installments over many years.
After taxes were deducted, each of them received several million dollars. Cook chose to retire from his job shortly after the win, while Feeney, who had previously worked as a firefighter, was already enjoying retirement.
While large lottery winnings sometimes lead to conflict or broken relationships, this story became a rare example of the opposite. A promise made decades earlier was honored without hesitation, proving that their friendship was worth just as much as the fortune they shared. 💰🤝
