Man Becomes Instant Millionaire After Meteorite Crashes Into His Roof

Josua Hutagalung of Indonesia is a pretty lucky guy. The coffin-maker was working in front of his home when a five-pound meteorite hit his house. Sure, Josua was lucky that no one got hurt when the space rock crashed through his roof and buried itself six-inches deep into his garden, but that's actually only where his luck begins. See the meteorite, which is probably 4.5 billion years old, is worth just over a million dollars.

Josua spoke about when the meteorite struck, saying, "I was working on a coffin near the street in front of my house when I heard a booming sound that made my house shake. It was as if a tree had fallen on us." The 33-year-old and his wife dug the rock out of the ground, noting, "When I lifted it, the stone was still warm and I brought it into the house."

The meteorite was analyzed and classified as CM 1/2 carbonaceous Chondrite, which is extremely rare and carries what is considered to be the chemical building blocks for early life in the solar system.

Word got out about the meteorite and one Bali-based expert, Jared Collins, was sent to secure it. He said, "My phone lit up with crazy offers for me to jump on a plane and buy the meteorite... I carried as much money as I could muster and went to find Josua, who turned out to be a canny negotiator."

Collins wound up giving Josua an amount that equals 30 years' salary for the coffin-maker.

The rock has since been shipped to Indianapolis, where it's been added to meteorite aficionado Jay Piatek's collection. As for Josua, he plans to retire and build a church in his community. However, that's not the father of three boys' only hope. He stated, "I have also always wanted a daughter and I hope this is a sign that I will be lucky enough now to have one."

Photo: Getty Images