Why be good....
...if you can be lucky, as my old boss used to remind me. And they don’t get any luckier than Kenan Altunis, global head of sales at UniCredit. The well-respected Altunis was poached by UniCredit from Deutsche a few years back when the pan-European banking firm started the build out of its trading operation – so he’s not exactly short of a few bob.
Altunis has just proved the veracity of the old saying that money goes to money – he has just won the lottery in Long Island, New York. On a visit back to his family home in September, Altunis is reported by the New York press to have noticed that a lottery was being held with a winning prize of $1 million a year for life, As he left to fly back to London, he reportedly gave his mother $100 and told her to buy him some tickets. His mother added $20 and bought four, one of which came up trumps.
The 33-year-old Altunis clearly has even less need to ever work again than he already had. But those who know him say he is unlikely to retire. Altunis is said to be slightly embarrassed by his slice of good fortune and has described the win as bittersweet, given the fact that he is wealthy already and that many of his colleagues are facing the prospect of redundancy. He has said he will donate a portion of his annual windfall to charity. I did try and get in touch with him to let him know of one good cause, but I understand he is travelling.
One thing is certain: he hasn’t let the win go to his head. Some of his colleagues have expressed surprise that he kept the good news quiet for a month, but I understand he was sworn to secrecy. When asked if he knew anything about Altunis’ luck, one of his former colleagues at Deutsche replied: “Yep. Good luck on him. Had dinner with him two weeks ago – and I paid.”