From Fire and Fortune to Faith: How Frano Selak Found Peace in Simplicity

After surviving seven near-death experiences, Frano Selak’s fortune changed once again — this time for the better. In 2003, the then–76-year-old retired teacher bought a lottery ticket that won him £600,000 (about $1 million USD).

His remarkable streak of luck made global headlines, and in that same year, he also found love again, marrying for the fifth time. He joked to reporters, “I guess all the earlier marriages were disasters too.”

But just when it seemed that Selak’s life had reached a happy and wealthy conclusion, he surprised the world with another unexpected decision. He gave most of his fortune away. The man who had beaten death seven times walked away from luxury, sold his island villa, and distributed most of his winnings among friends and family.

He returned to his hometown of Petrinja, where he bought a modest house and used a small portion of his winnings to pay for a hip replacement. The rest, he dedicated to building a Virgin Mary shrine, an expression of gratitude for what he believed was divine protection.

In one of his last interviews, Selak reflected on his extraordinary journey. “All I need at my age is my Katarina. Money would not change anything,” he said lovingly of his wife. He added, “When she arrived, I knew then that I really did have a charmed, blessed life. I never thought I was lucky to survive all my brushes with death. I thought I was unlucky to be in them in the first place.”

His life story went viral years later when an animated short film chronicling his experiences drew millions of views online. While the video brought his tale to new audiences, Selak himself expressed irritation at how it portrayed him, saying, “The Americans have no idea… Maybe they will earn big money, while I live on a pension. At least send me a thousand dollars.”

Though he passed away in 2016, Selak’s legend continues to captivate those who hear it — not only as a record of improbable survival, but as a meditation on gratitude. After decades of cheating death, he found that true wealth had nothing to do with money, and everything to do with love, faith, and the quiet joy of being alive.