People Who Won The Lottery Are Revealing How Their Lives Changed For The Worse, And It's Absolutely Tragic
Warning: This post contains mentions of drug use.
Winning the lottery can be life-changing, and while suddenly receiving a large amount of money can be a miracle for some, for others, things can get very, very messy.
A while back, Reddit users who knew lottery winners revealed what happened and how their lives changed...for the worse. Here are their unexpected and eye-opening stories:
Note: Responses were pulled from these three Reddit threads.
1."A family in our town won about $4 or 5 million. In their state, you couldn't remain anonymous. They owned a local business and tried to stay in town, but everyone knew, and they were getting harassed by people begging for money. They up and left one day and didn't tell anyone where they were going. That had to be hard — they had three or four kids who had to get yanked from school and all their friends."
2."My dad used to play every week religiously...and won $12M. He shared it amongst all his new wife's family and gave literally nothing to his biological children. Just before he died, he sent us all letters saying how he didn't understand why everyone cut him off 'randomly' and never spoke to him again."
3."I have a friend of a friend who went through this. Setting: They had three kids; the wife separated on and off from her husband, who had an addiction, so he moved in and out; his well-off but not rich parents had bought a house for them because of the kids to try and give them stability. He won a million dollars. They buy expensive SUVs, she swears she'll never wear non-designer again, and they SELL THEIR HOUSE to move into a luxury apartment."
"Now? They are separated again; her SUV is roughly 10 years old, his is gone, they live in a subsidized apartment, she works as a cafeteria aide, and he does not do much besides drink and use drugs. He lives in the apartment when it's just alcohol and is kicked out when it's drugs again. I feel sad for the kids."
4."It made them far more bitter. I know a pair of adult siblings whose family won millions. They were supposed to share it, but their grandmother had recently passed away with a mountain of debt. So, their mother, without consulting everyone, used the entire lottery fortune to pay off a dead person's various personal debts. They were left with nothing, and they are angry restaurant line cooks now."
—None
5."Years ago, I worked with a guy who won the lottery. He was only 17 then, and you had to be 18 to claim the prize, so his dad did it for him. Apparently, people came out of the woodwork looking for handouts, and the dad was generous. He gave the son enough for a downpayment on a house, but after that, he lost everything, giving those handouts to people. My friend said winning the lottery was the worst thing that happened to his family."
"I don't think he ever even used the downpayment to get a house as he was still renting at the time."
6."My wife's uncle won $1 million about 20 years ago. He took home about $350,000 net with the lump sum after taxes. The guy was unemployed and living in a trailer at the time. He blew through that $350K in under two years and was still unemployed and living in the same trailer when it was gone. Not a thing to show for it. He died a few years later with not a penny to his name."
7."I had an acquaintance who won around $18M after taxes around 2010. I think I only saw her once or twice more right after the win, and it didn't seem nice to ask too much about it as she was a private, low-key lady. So, I treated her like nothing had changed, and it did seem like nothing had changed — she looked and dressed and acted the same. At the time of the win, she was a very attractive late 20-something and was working toward a modest, family-oriented life. She never dreamed of riches. Just wanted to get married, have kids, and stay in her hometown near her family. I would not say the lottery win was the best thing that happened to her. She hated that she became a bit of a local celebrity for a while. She did marry the man she was dating at the time, but with his wife's millions in the bank, he felt like he didn't have much purpose, and I think it led to depression."
"They splurged on a bit of travel early on but were budget-conscious about the wedding. For instance, no plus-ones for guests who weren't in serious relationships. They did splurge on an impressive fireworks display, but other than that, it sounded like a relatively modest five-figure celebration. They built a sizable dream house on a large, private property in their hometown but didn't properly furnish it. They moved in a mish-mosh of old belongings, including some old Ikea furniture rescued from a curb years earlier. They had a couple of cute kids, but the husband died very young a few years ago. I think it was some kind of cancer.
It's honestly really sad. She probably lives on a fraction of the interest the money draws — she has little interest in wealth. And it seems like it led her to isolation and a life she didn't really want. She does seem like a sweet, doting mother now, though. I'm sure 99% of us would make very different choices in that situation."
8."My niece's friend won $35M about 20 years ago. He was only in his early twenties. He bought all the usual over-the-top stuff — and houses and cars for his immediate family. But also quickly became addicted to drugs. His heart was in the right place as he bought a bunch of cheap houses that needed renovations and asked his friends to work for him to fix the houses. Technically, it wasn't a bad plan. He was employing his friends, paying them reliably and well, and would give them the option to buy the house for a good price once done. It all fell apart as they all partied a LOT, so most of them wouldn't show up for work but accepted the free party nights and felt no obligation to work for the cushy conditions."
"Last I heard, he had burned through more than half and was in rehab. I hope he got his life together. He really seemed like a good kid."
9."My coworker won $250K on a scratch-it. He ended up with $170K. He bought a house and a used car, then took his kids to Disneyland. Then, the story gets weird. He wanted to move to a different state, so he sold his house and moved into a 'Value Inn' in that new state. Then he proceeded to never find a house. Spent ALL the money living in a garbage hotel. He had some pretty big problems that just seemed to get worse."
"Eventually, his mother passed away, so he moved back to his home state to live in his mother's old house. Poor guy."
10."I worked with a woman who won a substantial amount shortly after the lottery was started. We worked in a small bank in central Texas, and all she wanted was to keep working, take care of her family with a new house, and save for her kids' college. After claiming the money, she had to quit within a few days of returning to work because people wouldn't leave her alone. The phone calls to the bank alone tied up our phone system to the point they were unusable. She said that people she hadn't heard from in years were trying to contact her, and random people calling for 'donations' were making her life chaos."
"She quit, moved, and went no contact with most people after that because she couldn't handle the hounding. I felt really bad for her because she seemed kinda shell-shocked from all the attention."
11."A guy I played golf with won $20M in a state lottery. His wife left him very quickly. Apparently, she felt stuck due to financial limitations, and the big win made her feel free to divorce him. He said it was the worst thing that ever happened to him — also because people started hitting him up for money."
12."I know two people who got, like, $200K/year for 20 years starting in the late '80s. In the '80s, that was equivalent to something like $500K/year. They're both dead broke now. One for sure is in her 60s working an awful job. Terrible outcome. They lived large for a while, flying everybody to Vegas, buying houses for friends, etc."
13."I knew a couple who won $400K in the '90s. They were very poor before they won and had been caring for a small boy whose mother was negligent and addicted to drugs. All seemed great at first. They bought a nice, modest home and formally adopted the little boy. Then, they started doing some regrettable things. She pulled their son out of school because he was having difficulties. The kid never learned to read because she didn't teach him anything; she just bought him endless toys. They lost their pontoon boat because they forgot to tie it up and were too lazy to search for it. He bought way too many ATVs, snowmobiles, and guns, and the money dried up."
"They had to sell everything and ended up back in the same basement apartment they started in."
14."A boss of mine won $13M. His business and home were in foreclosure, so it was perfect timing. However, shortly after, his son was arrested for drug trafficking, and there was media attention from my boss’ win. Made him a local celebrity, and he hated it."
"Everyone would ask him about his son, and he hated the attention."
And finally...
15."I knew a guy that won $3M, sunk a bunch into his business to get out of debt and expand — still went under. He blew through the remaining on frivolous purchases, including cars, boats, and jewelry. Got taken advantage of by people, but he was super popular and the life of the party. Less than five years later, he's broke and working overnights at a warehouse so he can watch the kids during the day."
"Winning millions is hard to fathom, but it goes quickly, and you all of a sudden have everyone coming out of the woodwork to be your friend. Same reason you never announce an inheritance. Watch the 30 for 30 and Going For Broke to see how easy it is to blow through millions and end up with nothing left."
Have you or someone you know ever won the lottery and regretted it? Feel free to share in the comments below. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can use this Google form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
