Tauranga's newest multimillionaire Lou Te Keeti sat down with Opportunities Party leader Gareth Morgan today to chat about what they have in common.

The hour-long conversation covered politics, philanthropy, and what to do when you have millions in the bank overnight.

Ngati Kahu kaumatua Lou went public over the weekend as the winner of the $10.3 million Powerball First Division prize, which was struck earlier this month.

Speaking about the winnings, he professed admiration for the policies of Gareth Morgan's new party, prompting the economist to drop in to Tauranga specifically for a chat while on his way to Rotorua today.

'We both just talked about the experience of having a sudden windfall like this,” says Gareth.

'My wife had the same reaction as his: ‘We're happy, don't let this ruin our lives'. I gave him some tips on how to keep his sanity, too. It can be a real shock to the system.”

He says Lou is ‘pretty keen' on the Opportunities Party, despite only having read about the political movement in the media.

'He talked a lot about our policies. He was at the NZTA all morning about issues with roading around his marae, so he's clearly very active in his community.”

Gareth adds he may make a return visit to Tauranga before September 23 as a guest at Lou's marae.

Meanwhile, the Lotto winner has talked publicly of his plans to donate a portion of his winnings to charity, including $100,000 each to Waipuna Hospice, the local Heart Foundation, and a local diabetes charity.