Professional Boxer Manny Pacquiao Wins $1.5 Million, Uses It to Build 1,000 Homes for Poor People

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Have you ever played the “What if I won the lottery” game? You know, where you imagine, either by yourself or with your partner, what you would do if you won a million-dollar lottery. Most of us have similar dreams. Maybe we’d buy a new house or a new car, perhaps even buy a house for our parents or our kids. Other people want to travel around the world or pay off their debt. But for some people, winning big means helping others, and that’s exactly what professional boxer Manny Pacquiao did. The famous boxer, who was born in the Philippines, had some grand dreams.

Like many people in the Philippines, Pacquiao grew up in poverty and he swore he would never forget where he started from. “I became a fighter because I had to survive,” said Pacquiao. “I had nothing. I had no one to depend on except myself. I realized that boxing was something I was good at, and I trained hard so that I could keep myself and my family alive.” Manny’s hard-luck story is a common one in the world of boxing and martial arts sports like MMA. These young men and women grew up hard and they learned to fight before realizing that they were good enough to do it for a living.

Pacquiao is one of the greatest boxers in history and he’s known for giving back. Since he started boxing, he’s been selling out audiences around the world. He has 12 major world titles to his name and he’s truly living the dream with his family. However, he’s never forgotten what poverty felt like. Raised by a single mom in a family of six kids, he dropped out of school at age 14 to help support his family. Two years after that, he started boxing professionally. When he fought Floyd Mayweather Junior in 2015, it was dubbed by many people as the “Fight of the Century.” Mayweather made a lot of money, and Manny walked away with $1.5 million in cold hard cash.

He decided that he wanted to put that money to good use and that’s exactly what he did. He wanted to help some of the poorest people in his beloved country of the Philippines. “I feel what they’re feeling because I’ve been there,” he said. “I’ve slept in the street. That was my life before. So hard. That’s why I feel what they’re feeling right now.” Because of this, Manny decided to spend that money to build 1,000 homes for people who need them most. Sometimes he even goes around his country handing out cash to people.

In 2007, Pacquiao took his life’s work beyond boxing and he became a congressman in his country, and later a senator. His goal these days is to use his wealth and power to help the people most vulnerable in his country. I’d say he’s off to a good start. Here’s a video about this story.