In 2010, Jacki and Gil Cisneros won a $266 million Mega Millions jackpot in California. Before making any major purchases, they launched a foundation to help students, especially Latino students like themselves, prepare for and afford college. They have since supported hundreds of students through scholarships and other initiatives.
From left Gil and Jacki Cisneros at their eponymous institute in Washington D.C. on Nov. 20. Credit Cheriss May for People; Justin SullivanGetty NEED TO KNOW In 2010 Jacki and Gilbert Cisneros won 266 million in a Mega Millions jackpot in CaliforniaBefore making any big purchases they launched the Gilbert Jacki Cisneros Foundation that later funded the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at Gil's alma mater in Washington D.C.They've since helped hundreds of students many of them Latino like themselves prepare for and afford college including through a scholarship at the University of Southern California One night in the spring of 2010 as couple Jacki and Gil Cisneros headed to a steak dinner in California (at Outback a splurge) they played a game of what if. What if they ... won the lottery? Gil then between jobs as a manufacturing manager indulged his wife who was working the graveyard shift for a local TV station as an assignment editor on contract. He said his first priority would be to help kids find a path to college so they wouldnt have to struggle the way he had as a boy from modest means. Two weeks later Jacki was at work when she heard someone had just won the Mega Millions jackpot after buying a lottery ticket at the same Hawaiian barbecue restaurant where Gil had picked up dinner the night before. She woke him with a phone call and together they matched the numbers to his ticket worth 266 million. I just started crying Jacki 55 recalls in this week's issue of PEOPLE. It was the biggest relief. Telling that story now she says she becomes emotional when I look back and I see the things that we were able to do because of it and people that we've been able to touch. Take PEOPLE with you! Subscribe to PEOPLE magazine to get the latest details on celebrity news exclusive royal updates how-it-happened true crime stories and more right to your mailbox. The Cisneros couple on Oprah Winfrey's show in 2010. George BurnsHarpo Inc. Even before any big purchases like a 6 000-sq.-ft. mansion with a pool where they lived for several years and a luxury replacement for Gils dilapidated pickup truck they launched the Gilbert Jacki Cisneros Foundation that later funded the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at Gil's alma mater George Washington University in Washington D.C. They've since helped hundreds of students many of them Latino like themselves prepare for and afford college including through a scholarship at the University of Southern California from which Jacki graduated. Our new app is here! Free fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now! Today they credit their tens of millions of dollars in philanthropic efforts with helping them dodge the lottery curse that can plague winners who become overwhelmed by their fortunes. How much do you really need in life? We thought 'We can do it on this ' says Gil 54 and then we'll take this much of what's left and create our foundation. Gil and Jacki (front from left) with some of the students at their institute at George Washington University on Nov. 20. Cheriss May for People Enrique Flores 24 of Keizer Oregon learned to dream bigger after participating in the Cisneros Institutes Caminos al Futuro (or paths to the future) a summer residential program at George Washington University that set him up to apply to elite schools like Stanford where he obtained a bachelors and masters degree in 2024 and 2025. Now he's pursing a career in philanthropy at the Latino Community Foundation headed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julin Castro with law school dreams. Flores says his work is a full circle moment inspired by his benefactors It feels really in line with what Gil and Jacki did starting their foundation. Enrique Flores (center) with dad Tomas and mom Fabiola at his 2025 graduation. Courtesy Enrique Flores Elisa Velasco in 2023. Courtesy Elisa Velasco Elisa Velasco 24 took what she learned as a pre-college institute scholar in the summer of 2018 and created Sin Lmites (meaning without limits) a similar no-cost program in her hometown of Norman Okla. The Cisneroses changed the trajectory of my life she says in ways both small ( It was my first time on a plane ... but that pushed me to become independent ) and big. I loved the community action projects we did and how they connected to our lived experiences says Velasco who also started Latinos Unidos 405 to provide higher education resources for Spanish-speaking families. She graduated from Pomona College in 2024 and is volunteering with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. The couple's luck opened up a world of possibilities. Before hitting the jackpot Jacki and Gil had figured parenthood wasn't in their future. They were both 39 worked opposite schedules felt saddled by debt including from her student loans and faced fertility issues. Winning changed everything. One of his first things Gil said was 'Wow we can buy organic food and we can have kids ' Jacki says with a laugh. She underwent in vitro fertilization and in 2014 welcomed twins Alexander and Christopher now 11. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Cisneros family this summer. Courtesy Jacki Cisneros Along the way financial and legal experts helped them avoid potential pitfalls. One big surprise was the extensive taxes taken out even after they'd accepted their lump sum which was whittled down from about 165 million to 90 million. You need to get the right help says Gil. Don't go to the lawyer down the street. Fifteen years later they still approve every dollar spent with guidance from a business manager. If this had been when we were 25 26 Jacki says it might be a different story. Of course there have been indulgences like Los Angeles Dodgers and Chargers season tickets international vacations a nanny when the boys were small a Range Rover for Gil and a Rolex for Jacki. (They also paid off her parents' mortgage.) She retired from her news career to focus on family and philanthropy while he went on to become a congressman. Despite the changes I don't think when people look at me they see 'Oh that guy's got millions ' says Gil. Jacki buys their sons' clothes from Target and most of her wardrobe through TikTok Shop; she shuttles the boys in a Honda Odyssey. Only recently did their kids even learn about their lottery backstory after a classmate spotted it through a Google search. The couple had planned to tell them when they were a bit older. I spent money more freely when I didnt have as much Jacki says and some of the fear is I don't want to lose it. Gil Cisneros (second from right) at his congressional swearing-in in January with his family. Nate Payne Gil a former Navy officer and a Republican turned Democrat was spurred to seek office in 2017 after President Donald Trump's election. I felt like maybe I can do more he says. He first served a congressional term from 2019 to 2021 then he became the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. He returned to Congress this year after winning another House seat. The couple's time is split between homes in Los Angeles County and D.C. where their foundation and institute work along with Congress keep them busy. Jacki tears up as she considers the sum of what their work has meant to other people and the lives we put onto a better path she says. Our intention was always to do good with what we had. In many ways they've tried to keep life looking like it did before that fateful night in 2010. They have the same friends and they still enjoy a meal at Outback. No one does a Bloomin' Onion like them says Jacki. And yes they still cant resist picking up the occasional lottery ticket. But should someone else win the next big jackpot Gil advises Try to stay grounded. Don't let it change you. Close Leave a Comment Read more Human Interest Real People NEED TO KNOW In 2010 Jacki and Gilbert Cisneros won 266 million in a Mega Millions jackpot in CaliforniaBefore making any big purchases they launched the Gilbert Jacki Cisneros Foundation that later funded the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at Gil's alma mater in Washington D.C.They've since helped hundreds of students many of them Latino like themselves prepare for and afford college including through a scholarship at the University of Southern California One night in the spring of 2010 as couple Jacki and Gil Cisneros headed to a steak dinner in California (at Outback a splurge) they played a game of what if. What if they ... won the lottery? Gil then between jobs as a manufacturing manager indulged his wife who was working the graveyard shift for a local TV station as an assignment editor on contract. He said his first priority would be to help kids find a path to college so they wouldnt have to struggle the way he had as a boy from modest means. Two weeks later Jacki was at work when she heard someone had just won the Mega Millions jackpot after buying a lottery ticket at the same Hawaiian barbecue restaurant where Gil had picked up dinner the night before. She woke him with a phone call and together they matched the numbers to his ticket worth 266 million. I just started crying Jacki 55 recalls in this week's issue of PEOPLE. It was the biggest relief. Telling that story now she says she becomes emotional when I look back and I see the things that we were able to do because of it and people that we've been able to touch. Take PEOPLE with you! Subscribe to PEOPLE magazine to get the latest details on celebrity news exclusive royal updates how-it-happened true crime stories and more right to your mailbox. The Cisneros couple on Oprah Winfrey's show in 2010. George BurnsHarpo Inc. Even before any big purchases like a 6 000-sq.-ft. mansion with a pool where they lived for several years and a luxury replacement for Gils dilapidated pickup truck they launched the Gilbert Jacki Cisneros Foundation that later funded the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at Gil's alma mater George Washington University in Washington D.C. They've since helped hundreds of students many of them Latino like themselves prepare for and afford college including through a scholarship at the University of Southern California from which Jacki graduated. Our new app is here! Free fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now! Today they credit their tens of millions of dollars in philanthropic efforts with helping them dodge the lottery curse that can plague winners who become overwhelmed by their fortunes. How much do you really need in life? We thought 'We can do it on this ' says Gil 54 and then we'll take this much of what's left and create our foundation. Gil and Jacki (front from left) with some of the students at their institute at George Washington University on Nov. 20. Cheriss May for People Enrique Flores 24 of Keizer Oregon learned to dream bigger after participating in the Cisneros Institutes Caminos al Futuro (or paths to the future) a summer residential program at George Washington University that set him up to apply to elite schools like Stanford where he obtained a bachelors and masters degree in 2024 and 2025. Now he's pursing a career in philanthropy at the Latino Community Foundation headed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julin Castro with law school dreams. Flores says his work is a full circle moment inspired by his benefactors It feels really in line with what Gil and Jacki did starting their foundation. Enrique Flores (center) with dad Tomas and mom Fabiola at his 2025 graduation. Courtesy Enrique Flores Elisa Velasco in 2023. Courtesy Elisa Velasco Elisa Velasco 24 took what she learned as a pre-college institute scholar in the summer of 2018 and created Sin Lmites (meaning without limits) a similar no-cost program in her hometown of Norman Okla. The Cisneroses changed the trajectory of my life she says in ways both small ( It was my first time on a plane ... but that pushed me to become independent ) and big. I loved the community action projects we did and how they connected to our lived experiences says Velasco who also started Latinos Unidos 405 to provide higher education resources for Spanish-speaking families. She graduated from Pomona College in 2024 and is volunteering with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. The couple's luck opened up a world of possibilities. Before hitting the jackpot Jacki and Gil had figured parenthood wasn't in their future. They were both 39 worked opposite schedules felt saddled by debt including from her student loans and faced fertility issues. Winning changed everything. One of his first things Gil said was 'Wow we can buy organic food and we can have kids ' Jacki says with a laugh. She underwent in vitro fertilization and in 2014 welcomed twins Alexander and Christopher now 11. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Cisneros family this summer. Courtesy Jacki Cisneros Along the way financial and legal experts helped them avoid potential pitfalls. One big surprise was the extensive taxes taken out even after they'd accepted their lump sum which was whittled down from about 165 million to 90 million. You need to get the right help says Gil. Don't go to the lawyer down the street. Fifteen years later they still approve every dollar spent with guidance from a business manager. If this had been when we were 25 26 Jacki says it might be a different story. Of course there have been indulgences like Los Angeles Dodgers and Chargers season tickets international vacations a nanny when the boys were small a Range Rover for Gil and a Rolex for Jacki. (They also paid off her parents' mortgage.) She retired from her news career to focus on family and philanthropy while he went on to become a congressman. Despite the changes I don't think when people look at me they see 'Oh that guy's got millions ' says Gil. Jacki buys their sons' clothes from Target and most of her wardrobe through TikTok Shop; she shuttles the boys in a Honda Odyssey. Only recently did their kids even learn about their lottery backstory after a classmate spotted it through a Google search. The couple had planned to tell them when they were a bit older. I spent money more freely when I didnt have as much Jacki says and some of the fear is I don't want to lose it. Gil Cisneros (second from right) at his congressional swearing-in in January with his family. Nate Payne Gil a former Navy officer and a Republican turned Democrat was spurred to seek office in 2017 after President Donald Trump's election. I felt like maybe I can do more he says. He first served a congressional term from 2019 to 2021 then he became the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. He returned to Congress this year after winning another House seat. The couple's time is split between homes in Los Angeles County and D.C. where their foundation and institute work along with Congress keep them busy. Jacki tears up as she considers the sum of what their work has meant to other people and the lives we put onto a better path she says. Our intention was always to do good with what we had. In many ways they've tried to keep life looking like it did before that fateful night in 2010. They have the same friends and they still enjoy a meal at Outback. No one does a Bloomin' Onion like them says Jacki. And yes they still cant resist picking up the occasional lottery ticket. But should someone else win the next big jackpot Gil advises Try to stay grounded. Don't let it change you