Lottery winners who went broke after winning millions

[nicoleivy5]

Stories of lottery winners who went broke after winning millions

"After winning $10 million Cdn most people would expect their lives to change, not to end. But that’s the fate that befell Winnipeg native Gerald Muswagon: After winning the lottery in 1998, he bought a house for drug use and partying, and he bought his friends and family TVs and cars.

After starting a logging business, which failed, Muswagon faced numerous run-ins with the law and served jail time for dangerous driving and sexual assault. He ended up spending all his money and went back to a minimum wage job to support his six children. In 2005, he tragically hanged himself in his parent’s garage."

Damn thats crazy. I cant imagine someone going broke after winning $10 million. In the other stories they won much more and blew it all away

[Zynara]

even if i had that much money i dont know how i would ever spend it in my life, that is too much money be able to spend

[Sorshen]

People with no self control/economic education and a load of cash? A disaster waiting to happen.

[Blueobelisk]

$10 million is life changing, but doesn't make you Bill Gates.

[Bathory]

even if i had that much money i dont know how i would ever spend it in my life, that is too much money be able to spend

I'm sure they thought the same thing. It's not really that much if you're stupid with it.

[Dawnshadow]

Basically, the trick to being happy after winning the lottery is to never let anyone know you won the lottery. Ever.

[Blueobelisk]

even if i had that much money i dont know how i would ever spend it in my life, that is too much money be able to spend

Really? That's too much money to be able to spend? Boy I better tell those billion dollar sports teams to tread carefully after I become a $10 million winner.

It's attitudes like that that make you go broke.

[Wyrt]

10 million is easily enough to live well for the rest of your life if you don't blow it on a bunch of stupid useless crap.

[breadisfunny]

$10 million is life changing, but doesn't make you Bill Gates.

pretty much. a lot of people overvalue how much 10 million is because they've never seen that much in their life. with inflation 10,000,000 is about how much you would spend in a lifetime of a upper class lifestyle with 2 kids.
50 million isn't even too much. now 100 million that's a lot.

[Sky High]

10 mill isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things, even less so if you're bad with money.

[breadisfunny]

I'm sure they thought the same thing. It's not really that much if you're stupid with it.

if i won the lottery i would probably still be the same frugal person after i spend on the stuff i've been wanting for awhile but haven't been able to afford and getting some new basic neccesities. don't see any sense for example in buying a jewel encrusted refridgerator or whatever. might donate to some youtubers and modders that make content i like but that would be it.

[daenerys]

When you win a big lottery like that, it's best to splurge no more than 10% of it buying something nice, paying off bills, going on vacation. Than after that, save/invest the rest so that you know it'll last you the rest of your life. If you earn just 5% interest annually off of $10 million, that's $500,000 per year. That's a very good life you could live off of the rest of your life. If you know you're not good with money, get yourself a financial adviser, that you know has your best interests in mind, and will set you up right, so that you don't over spend and find yourself broke, like far to many lottery winners do.

[nicoleivy5]

Basically, the trick to being happy after winning the lottery is to never let anyone know you won the lottery. Ever.

yep. otherwise you will have all these fake friends begging you

[breadisfunny]

yep. otherwise you will have all these fake friends begging you

that would be easy for me. seeing as i have no friends right now all these people i barely know outside of work/etc asking me for money and suddenly asking me to do stuff with them because they are my "friend" yeah well except your NOT MY FRIEND.

[Auxora]

Plenty of stories of not just lottery winners having that happen. Lots of athletes, musicians, movie stars have had it happen. I think Mike Tyson made over $100M and lost it all. I read stories all the time of former big sports stars (not fringe players) who are homeless now. Aerosmith before their comeback had blown every dime. The NFL requires rookies to take training in wealth management now just to try to avoid it.

I can easily see where it happens though. While you are a big star, or just after winning the lottery, you feel like you deserve to celebrate and be spoiled. So you overspend. Also, just the people you hang out with by nature then are rich, so you're buying nice cars, eating at expensive restaurants, taking expensive trips, just to fit in. That's basically the norm. A NFL star isn't going to drive a 2008 Ford Focus to games. Plus, taxes take a huge chunk of lottery or big stars income. They think it's say $50M they are getting, so they spend like that have that much, and after accountant fees, taxes, agent fees, they are luck to get 40% of that. On top of it all they have every person they've even remotely known hitting them up with sob stories or investment ideas to hit them up for money.

What it comes down to is that a sudden huge increase in income does not necessarily mean the person is responsible enough to handle it. It's a huge mental change, lots of stress, along with emotional challenges, to keep an even keel and not blow it. In fact I'd say I'm more surprised and impressed that someone in that situation is able to overcome those things and not blow it, because it would be really really easy to lose it all and many have.

[breadisfunny]

john daly isn't he like 500 million in debt or some really huge amount along with several other celebrities?

[Kithelle]

People with no self control/economic education and a load of cash? A disaster waiting to happen.

I have to agree with this...I mean if I won 10 million or one of the powerball 500 million+ super jackpots, I'd do the same thing. Buy a reasonably priced house...maybe go on a little bit of a spending spree. We're not talking like hundreds of thousands here...just I'd get some nice stuff like a good new computer...bigger tv and monitor...some gaming stuff...some games obviously. Maybe indulge in some collectable stuff I probably wouldn't buy but nothing really insane.

Then save the lot of it for support for a long period of time, give some to charity...maybe a little to friends and family but I wouldn't go buying people houses, cars, or anything insane. (Well maybe some people really close to me a car or something if I won something in the hundreds of millions of dollars range)

But I definitely wouldn't pick up drugs or host lavish parties...I wouldn't change my day to day very much except maybe visit some places I'd like to go...maybe learn some skills and a new language or two with the free time I'd have.

[Zynara]

Really? That's too much money to be able to spend? Boy I better tell those billion dollar sports teams to tread carefully after I become a $10 million winner.

It's attitudes like that that make you go broke.

yes, it's too much to spend, I could just put the money in a bank with high interest and live like really good on the interest

[DrStiglit]

Even if you are terrible at investing and just stick it in a crappy 1% savings account you can make 100k a year off it. It's enough to live off of if you don't spend it.

[breadisfunny]

I have to agree with this...I mean if I won 10 million or one of the powerball 500 million+ super jackpots, I'd do the same thing. Buy a reasonably priced house...maybe go on a little bit of a spending spree. We're not talking like hundreds of thousands here...just I'd get some nice stuff like a good new computer...bigger tv and monitor...some gaming stuff...some games obviously. Maybe indulge in some collectable stuff I probably wouldn't buy but nothing really insane.

Then save the lot of it for support for a long period of time, give some to charity...maybe a little to friends and family but I wouldn't go buying people houses, cars, or anything insane. (Well maybe some people really close to me a car or something if I won something in the hundreds of millions of dollars range)

But I definitely wouldn't pick up drugs or host lavish parties...I wouldn't change my day to day very much except maybe visit some places I'd like to go...maybe learn some skills and a new language or two with the free time I'd have.

well my house would have an indoor pool and whirlpool...
plus a gaming room.
complete with erotic paintings of elves on the walls.
would probably buy one of those mega collections of every game and system ever you see on ebay or whatever for several hundred grand.
buy new pants and shirts. ones i have are tattered and have holes.
new glasses. my old ones are beyond worn out and i need new prescription.
buy myself a butler as well.
would be able to afford to go out to anyplace i wanted in u.s. and eat.
if i could afford i would buy my own cheap private plane with pilot and closed windows cause heights scare me so i can fly to random restaurants and eat those delicious foods i see on the tv shows like man v.s. food.
also would need my own bodyguard to beat up any draenei that try to take me down.
that would really be it.