Canadian executive Tony Crist's secret is out. However, what is more interesting is not that he won $40 million lottery prize in May which even his family didn't know, but he is giving it all away to charity!

Mr Crist, from Calgary, Alberta, recalled that he was informed by Western Canada in May while he was golfing in Palm Springs, California, of his winning the top prize in the lottery. After the phone call, he finished his lunch and played golf thereafter without a soul knowing of his financial windfall.

He told CBC that he kept the matter of winning a secret because the minute he received the phone call, he knew where the prize money would go.

Mr Crist lost his wife, Jan, in February 2012 to cancer. They were married for 33 years, and she died at age 57.

"She was fairly young and stuff. She beat it for six years before it finally caught up to her," Mr Crist said.

The prize money would go into a family trust fund that would be given to charities that he and his children have picked over the years. Among them are the Canadian Cancer Society and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.

YouTube/Canadian Cancer Society

Mr Crist retired in September 2013 as chief executive officer of EECOL Electric, an electrical wholesale company based in Calgary. He sold the firm in December 2012 and said the proceeds are enough to take care of him and his kids' financial needs, adding, "I don't really need that money."

If it were up to him, Mr Crist would have kept the $40 million donation a secret, even from his children, but the rules of the lotto company requires a photograph and public notification for large payouts, which he complied with but opted to wear a cap and sunglasses in the photo session.

He plays the Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 by subscription, which means he cap pay for his selection for up to one year at a time. Mr Crist said he is not even sure what game he won and what were the numbers he picked.

YouTube/LotterySystemNew

The Daily Mail said he won the May 3 Lotto Max draw, with the winning combination of 4, 6, 21, 26. 30, 34 and 35. But since he pays his numbers by subscription, Mr Crist didn't even personally selected those digits.