Tycoon passed away, leaving villagers nearly 60 billion VND/person

Overnight, 80 residents of the village of Cerezales del Condado in the Spanish province of Leon became millionaires.

Their fortune came not from the El Gordo lottery, but simply because this is where billionaire Antonino Fernández was born. In his unusual will, he left the residents of Cerezales £169 million, meaning each heir would receive around £2 million (about 56.6 billion VND).

British NewspaperDaily MailOn November 24, Antonino Fernández was born in 1917, the 11th child in a family of 13. Difficult life forced him to drop out of school at the age of 14. He moved to Mexico in 1949 when he was 32 years old at the request of his wife's uncle, who owned the Grupo Modelo beer company, famous for its Corona beer. Here, Fernández began working for the brewery as a warehouse worker.

Mr. Antonino Fernández in the village of Cerezales del Condado Photo: Diariodeleon.es

He rose through the ranks to become CEO of Grupo Modelo, turning Corona into not only Mexico's most popular beer but also a major export to countries including Spain, where it is sold under the Coronita brand. Corona is the second most imported beer in the US, with annual sales of £556m.

He served as CEO until 1997 and as chairman of the board until 2005. Mr. Fernández died in August at the age of 99.

Mr. Fernández and his wife Cinia González Díez. Photo: Daily Mail

“We have never received money before,” Maximino Sanchez, who owns the village’s only bar, where shelves are stocked with Mexican liquor, told the Diario de León newspaper. “I really don’t know what we would do without Mr. Fernández.”

Mr. Fernández is a prominent philanthropist who has never forgotten his homeland and was honored by former Spanish King Juan Carlos. Mr. Fernández founded an organization called Leon Soltra that provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities, as well as a similar organization named after his wife, Cinia, that operates in Mexico. He also established the Cerezales Antonino y Cinia Foundation in his hometown in 2009 to support rural initiatives in the region.

According to Dan Tri