Playing the lottery is almost always followed by the thought “It can’t happen to me, right?”. Well, it can, and to a select few people, it did. After winning such a grand sum of money, you might wonder what comes next. The winners’ testimonials cover the complete range of exaltation, despair, and loss (sometimes physical, and most often, emotional). Why are negative emotions dominant here?
We put together 13 (ha!) outcomes you might face after winning the lottery, and the results are bittersweet, to say the least.
- This youth opened the treasure chest
Great Britain’s youngest winner was only 16 when she hit it big. Even though she stated that caring for her family would be her priority, reality took her elsewhere. The overwhelmed youngster invested in breast implants. To top it all up, she bought £250,000 worth of cocaine. The excesses led her over the edge, with several suicide attempts under her belt.
Still, the story wrapped up nicely: the young woman pursued an education in nursing and found work as a caretaker. What did it take for her to find happiness? Getting rid of the prize money.
- Going separate ways
Money does not buy you love, and sometimes it may even be the end of it. For this American couple, the wife winning spelled doom for their 25-year-old marriage. She immediately filed for divorce, and her husband had no idea why. He only found out later. The fact that his wife omitted this detail was considered a criminal offence by the court. As a result, the entire prize went the man’s way.
Penniless and alone might not be such sweet a deal.
- Cause of death: murder
While the dead cannot talk, their deaths are quite telling. Such is Abraham Shakespeare’s death. His life took a Shakespearean turn for the dramatic when he won a considerable lottery prize amount. The man would give money to all who asked him, and he even allowed squatters in his home. His philanthropic endeavours ended up being his downfall. A young woman and her boyfriend, supposedly Shakespeare’s new friends, did away with his life.
- Never a self-made man
Jack Whittaker was a self-made man, but winning the lottery added to his already considerable wealth. How long did these riches last, though? Not very. The business tycoon first invested in charitable organizations. Unfortunately, his time as a benefactor was up because his state of residence publicized Whittaker’s name. Soon, people flocked to him with ridiculous cash demands.
Unfortunately, it does not end here
Moreover, the businessman was robbed, and his firm was subject to unwarranted lawsuits. The end purpose of the plaintiffs? Getting their hands on that sweet bank. To add insult to injury, his beloved granddaughter died under mysterious circumstances, likely having to do with her grandfather’s wealth.
Whittaker passed away in 2020 with nothing of the prize money left. However, he believed it was for the better.
- Couple issues and crime
William Post III spent his last money on lotto tickets. And he won! What seemed a success story at first soon went south. Post managed to blow $400,000 in two weeks, almost his entire yearly installment. Love turned cold, too, as his girlfriend sued him. She claimed that the couple was to share the prize. The temporarily penniless Post lost in court since he couldn’t pay her right away.
Down the slippery slope
The man declared bankruptcy, and he was down to $2.6 million. Nothing remains of that sum as he resumed his spending habits. Then, he turned to crime – he shot a person who was asking him for money. Post III kept on getting married and divorcing. His brother hired a hitman to go for him and his sixth wife. In the end, the lottery winner died of natural causes, without a dollar to his name.
- What people do for love
This time, we are tackling a Powerball jackpot winner. Marie Holmes spent most of her prize money not for herself but her loved one. Why did he need it? Well, he kept getting into prison. Marie paid for his bail three times. Her efforts total around $20 million, if not more.
- Is wrestling a good business idea? Not always
Although wrestling brings excitement, performance, and violence together, Jay Vargas overestimated its business potential. The 19-year-old invested in an all-female wrestling team. However, their exploits went off-air after a single year. As a result, the young man went bankrupt immediately.
- Good old-fashioned hedonism
After these shocking and extravagant tales, we looked for a more linear storyline. Nineteen-year-old Michael Carroll spent his lottery money on instant gratification. The young man constantly went on benders, and he would smoke crack cocaine on a daily basis.
A single day’s use cost him $3,000. Spending so much on drugs and prostitutes soon led him to bankruptcy. Now a biscuit-packer, Carroll states that he finally found happiness. He also believes that keeping up that debauched lifestyle would have ultimately killed him.
- How does a double winner fare?
A Reddit user states that his bartending friend won $2 million his first go on the lottery. The winner went on to spend his cash on a lavish house and a car to match. However, the cash fountain soon went dry, and so did his wife. She left him as soon as he became a regular person again.
But he won once more, and his wife came back to him. The second time around, nothing changed. He blew the prize, and his spouse left again. With that said, the man says that he doesn’t regret anything, so kudos to him.
- At each other’s throat
A content elderly couple, which was already rich, also won the lotto prize. Their newfound extra wealth made things go sour between the two. The husband found out that his wife, Ibi, had a secret son, and she donated C$5 million to him. Now, broken vows after cash windfalls are par for the course, but things took an even more shocking turn. Feeling betrayed, the man stung his partner with a poisoned needle, killing her in the process. Even though he argued that the woman was afraid of physicians and was only trying to treat her at home, nobody was fooled. He ended up doing time in prison.
- Spending with a cause
Janite Lee is one of the few winners to invest in charitable organizations. Furthermore, she got involved in politics, getting to meet personalities like Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Despite her selfless gestures, fate left her mostly penniless after eight prosperous years. The woman declared bankruptcy as soon as her $2.3-million-debt became inescapable.
- He didn’t do the math. Or meth?
According to The Courier Journal, a man named Ronnie Music Jr. found himself in more trouble than most lotto winners. He invested his cash in a crystal meth ring. And to the judges, it was crystal clear that he would do time. In April 2017, he got a 21-year sentence, and he is serving as we speak.
- A Reddit user proves that you can stay responsible
Our lucky 13th item on the list is a mostly happy story. The winner, who hosted an Ask Me Anything on Reddit, did not reveal much information about themselves. We know that they were overweight and a reclusive college student, with only family and a partner near them. They did their best to hide their winner status, coming out to close family members only a year later.
The partner found out only after the OP (Original Poster) had already proposed. OP also kept their job. They mostly made self-development expenditures: they invested in plastic surgery, psychiatric help, and legal advice. However, sports cars did play a part in their early prosperous life.
At the moment, this person has a yearly $100,000 budget, and they stick to it rigorously.
To sum it up
Most people are not ready for money windfalls. However, taking some time to make a financial plan and not giving in to instant gratification will help you come a long way. Just take our examples as cautionary tales.
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