Walk into my kitchen while I ’m prepare dinner any given weeknight and you ’ll hear " If I had a million dollars " blaring from the stereo . I ’ve been known to chirrup along to my favorite compact disc by Barenaked Ladies while shelling peas or pale tomatoes : " If I had a million dollars … I would buy you a house … I ’d build a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree fortress in our grounds … I ’d grease one’s palms you a scallywag … If I had a million dollars …
" I ’d be rich . "
While our lists might be different , we all have one , do n’t we ? We ’ve all dreamt of what we ’d buy ( or do ) if we had sudden , consuming rich . We certainly would n’t waste it like the lottery burnouts we ’ve profile for this article .
Or would we ? According to a bailiwick published by the University of Kentucky in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt University Law School , lotterywinners declarebankruptcyat twice the rate of the general universe .
Why is this ? The unfitness to squirrel away an unexpected gold rush is likely root deep in the human soul . Money arriving by fortune or consideration is just easygoing to spend than money earned through hard work . It ’s like finding a $ 20 bill on the sidewalk and splurging at your favorite coffee shop . The researchers also found that lottery winner tended to have below - average instruction and income , which might render into lower financial literacy than the fair not - that - financially - savvy mortal . Here are profile of 10 lottery winners who acquire large and fell hard .
10: Callie Rogers Returned to Work as a Maid
In 2003 , Callie Rogers was 16 , living with foster parents in the U.K. and working as a shop clerk earning £ 3.60 an hour ( $ 5.83 U.S. ) . And then she buy alotteryticket .
Rogers acquire a whopping £ 1.9 million ( $ 3 million U.S. ) in the National Lottery and , despite early insistency that she would carry on to live frugally , bought four large homes , several new cars and had twobreast augmentations .
The of a sudden loaded adolescent also prepare a penchant for sharing her windfall with others . She buy expensive gifts for a serial publication of swain . She even buy one boyfriend a auto and paid him to act as her chauffer because at 16 , she was too untested to ride . It was another habit , however , that really leave to Rogers financial ruination : cocaine . She calculate spending a tail of a million pounding on the drug .
After the dust go down , Rogers was left with little to show for her rich . She sell the home she owned , divested the new motorcar and lease a modest townhouse , saving the seemingly paltry £ 40,000 ( $ 64,000 U.S. ) that remained of her winnings while picking up work as a maiden . However , in April 2012 , low on funds , pregnant with twinsand with a fresh loving boyfriend at her side , Rogers say , " For the first time I find like I have everything I ask " [ author : Dagnell , Hough ] . woefully , one of the twins die shortly after parturition [ beginning : Atkinson ] .
9: Michael Carroll in Court for Stealing a Sandwich
In 2002 , Michael Carroll won the U.K. ’s National Lottery , netting a £ 9.7 million ( U.S. $ 15.8 million ) boost for his bank account . By 2012 , however , the former garbage gatherer was last on public benefits , having squandered the money in countless slipway .
Carroll purchased – and then destroy – a mansion , threw lavish parties for friends and made a day-after-day wont of fume $ 3,000 deserving ofcrack cocain . He also grease one’s palms dear cars , wrecked them on the self - made " race track " circling the ground of his manse and then left them to corrode on the belongings ’s outskirts . A fair amount of his lotto requital went to prostitutes and exaggerate gold jewelry , and he developed a penchant fordrinking alcoholand then driving around the otherwise quiet streets of Norfolk , England . The disturbances occurred on such a predictable basis , a hotline was established so neighbors could describe Carroll to the local council .
Eventually , financial shortage forced Carroll to sell the sign at a loss and he was later caught leaving a grocery market without bear for the sandwich and wassail he snaffle off store ledge . The $ 17 items terminate up be him nearly $ 138 in judicature costs .
" I only started to think about three things – drugs , sex and gold , " lament Carroll after his ruination . " The dealer who inaugurate me to break up has more of my lotto money than I do " [ reference : Silver ] .
8: Bud Post’s Brother Tried to Kill Him
From an other eld , William " Bud " Post ’s life had not been easy . His mother died when he was 8 and his father sent him to an orphanage . From there , he became a carnival worker and held down a serial of left over jobs with meagre pay that did n’t afford certain sumptuosity – like home- or machine - ownership . But that all changed when in 1998 , with less than $ 3 in his checking write up , Post pawned a ring for $ 40 and spent the return on PennsylvaniaLotterytickets . When he walked away with a $ 16.2 million jackpot , it seemed as though his luck had exchange .
Not so fast . Once parole of his good fortune spread , his landlady ( and sometime girl ) demand ( and received ) one - third of the winnings , claiming he ’d promised to split the winning with her after she buy the just the ticket for him . His brother lease a killer to take Post ’s life story ( but only after Post purchased business sector and car for him and his sib ) . Post also made some questionable fiscal decisions , like buy anairplanehe could not fly and a mansion that was eventually sold for parts to efface his hop on debts . To make other debts , Post sold the right hand to his remaining lottery payments , but ended up spending his last $ 2.65 million on two dwelling , several motorcycles , three cars , a motortruck and a sailboat , among other thing . He racked up sevenmarriages , too . " I was much happy when I was broke , " said Sullivan .
And just when circumstances did n’t seem like they could get worse , they did . Years earlier , in those first , foolhardy months of being a rich man , Post had provoke a gun at a account accumulator and was level with assault . Nearly in straitened circumstances , the lottery winner finally served the prison term and then lived on a $ 450 handicap payment until he died at age 66 , eight year after win big [ source : Sullivan ] .
7: Jack Whittaker’s Daughter, Granddaughter Died Tragically
You ’d have thought this one would n’t have ended so gravely . When Jack Whittaker won $ 315 million playing Powerball in 2002 – the largest single jackpot at the time – he was already a millionaire , so he knew how to handle money . He ’d spend decades building a successful water and sewer grapevine ship’s company in West Virginia ( deserving a report $ 17 million ) and already lavished dress and gifts on his wife and granddaughter Brandi Bragg , who lived with them part - time .
Butwinning the lotterygave him something entrepreneurial wealth never did : fame . And that , Whittaker by and by said , was more than he and his family could handle . He volley continual requests for money and endured the public airing of his strip show club , play and crapulence habit . His wife of nearly 42 yr divorced him . And then there were the thieves . They stole Whittaker ’s briefcase check $ 545,000 from the strip gild , and in another incident , stole $ 100,000 that Whittaker had left in unembellished sight on the passenger buttocks of his machine . Some of his employees also defalcate store .
Although Whittaker specify up a foundation that construct churches , funded college scholarships and donate to those in need , trouble plagued his own family . His beloved Brandi had been only 15 when Whittaker won the lottery . By 17 , she was dead , her dead body found enclose in tarp behind a junked van . An autopsy revealed recentcocaineuse . Not long after , Whittaker ’s girl and Brandi ’s mother , who suffered from recur lymphoma , was also found dead [ beginning : Samuels ] .
6. Lisa Arcand Lost Dream Business
In April 2004 , Lisa Arcand was a single mother know in Lawrence , Mass. , when she purchase alotteryticket . Within sidereal day , her purchase pay off : She’dbecome a millionaire .
And like many newly minted millionaire , Arcand starting fling immediately . First , she hosted a party for 20 of her ally and family , who ordered several $ 200 bottles ofwineduring the smash . She enrolled her Logos in a individual school with $ 10,000 annual tuition , went on a duet of vacations , and bought a household fill with fresh furniture . Then she embarked on her ambition of bribe and operating a hometown restaurant . However , fewer than six calendar month after opening the seafood restaurant , fiscal woes forced Arcand to shutter the eatery [ root : Young ] .
Of all the new thing Arcand tried , the one matter she did n’t do wassave a nest egg . " I utter to a few people , but settle that putting money off was n’t deserving it , " she said . While the lottery mandate one-year defrayal of $ 35,000 rather than a lump nitty-gritty , a financial service company sharply went after her , offer an upfront payment of $ 200,000 in exchange for $ 15,000 per year of her winnings . While this gave her more up - front hard currency , it put her in a higher revenue enhancement bracket , further reducing her money .
Left with a neglect business , an empty savings bill and few prospects on the sensible horizon until she receive her next yearly drawing payment , Arcand was resigned to wait for her luck to turn . Again .
5: Janite Lee Gave Thousands to Charity; Filed for Bankruptcy
Lotterywinner Janite Lee seemed to have the right idea . In 1993 , after buying a drawing ticket deserving $ 18 million , the 52 - twelvemonth - old South Korean immigrant gave much of the spoil tocharity . Although Lee did move into a million - dollar house in St. Louis , the city where she ’d antecedently operated a wig workshop , she focused on helping others .
With $ 620,000 a year winnings , Lee ’s large-hearted effort included respectable contribution to Washington University School of Law . She also donate hundreds of thousands topresidential political campaigns , which earned her tableside seating with Bill Clinton and Al Gore . Unfortunately , while she was giving away her lottery earnings , Lee was protecting a fiscal closed book .
Remember that million - dollar sign ? Instead of buying it with her drawing windfall , Lee purchased it on defrayal . In addition to thismortgage , she leased luxury railcar and reportedly borrow millions more from banks and credit visiting card . Even when she sample to make financially savvy relocation , such as paying off a loan forrader of schedule , she ended up deeply in debt by owing $ 750,000 in former payoff penalties .
By 2001 , Lee had sell the rights to future lottery requital and filed forbankruptcy . She was $ 2.5 million in debt [ source : Carbone , Danvers ] .
4: Willie Hurt Charged with Murder
Willie Hurt was a family homo hold out in Lansing , Mich. , when he gain the 1989 lottery pot . Although few doubted the $ 3.1 million windfall would interchange Hurt ’s lifetime , what happened during the course of the next two years was still shocking .
By the fourth dimension he ’d receive just two of the $ 156,000 annual installments on his lottery win , Hurt was in the process of a divorcement and had fall back hold of his children . He ’d also spent most of the money oncrack cocain .
Then thing get worse . After a 48 - 60 minutes binge on liquor and drugs at a rooming theater , Hurt allegedly argued with his girl when they could n’t find more crack . When she was later found shot in the head , Hurt was charged with her murder and , if convicted , would spend the rest of his lifespan in prison house . Although there ’s no word on whether Hurt was convicted , even if he was , he could stay to receive futurelotterypayments [ germ : Associated Press ] .
3: Amanda Clayton Collected Public Assistance after Winning
Single mother Amanda Clayton was jobless and on public assistance when she cashed in a $ 1 millionlottery ticketin the fall of 2011 . So , that acquire should have ended her need for her government check , ripe ?
Turns out Clayton , a Michigan resident in her mid-20s , stay on collect her monthly $ 200 in state food aid . She see that since the checks kept fall in , she was entitled to keep them . In March 2012 , a witness tipped off a local TV station that tail down Clayton ; she was film pay for bite with a public assistance card and then packing a moving motortruck for the changeover to her new purchased base . When confronted by the TV reporter , Clayton defended her right to be on public help . After all , she quipped , she was stillunemployedand " I have bills to pay . I have two household , " a televise explanation that resulted in public scandalisation .
According to Michigan law , welfare recipient must account any change to their income within 10 days . The state lawyer general charged Clayton with upbeat humbug , to which she pleaded no competition . She was put on probation and ordered to ante up back the money she was not entitled to . A scant class after winning , Clayton died at her home of a suspected drug overdose [ source : Lynch , McLaughlin ] .
2: Alex Toth Died Penniless
The life of Alex Toth read like a soap opera storyline . On the day in 1990 Toth bought a winning $ 13 millionlottery slate , his fellowship – which admit a wife and six children from previous relationships – had less than $ 25 to last on for the next seven day . They ’d already spent calendar week subsisting on bean plant , rice and transcribed soup .
Their lottery win , however , ushered in a celebrity - same life style . After insisting the money would n’t vary their way of life , Toth and his wife spent three months live on in a $ 1,000 - a - night hotel way in Las Vegas . They gambled , dined , shopped and bought ticket to expensive live shows – and then tired of it all . The Toths take back to Florida , put a doubled - encompassing on 10 acres and nail down in with their children .
Before long , though , money troubles began to brew . Toth ’s wife accused her 19 - year - old son and his girlfriend of killing her dog and setting fire to Toth ’s car after they withdraw his allowance . The Toths file forbankruptcy– twice – and were convict of file three years of deceitful tax returns . The IRS said the Toths had falsely reported gambling personnel casualty to offset their drawing winnings and now owe million in back taxes . In addition , Toth was arrested multiple times for growing marihuana and writing high-risk checks .
Devoid of their money , the Toths get living with their son and daughter - in - jurisprudence – the same two people they ’d once accused of animal ruthlessness and attempted murder . Apparently , they had patch up . Just a light time later , Toth die penniless [ source : Sullivan ] .
1: Lou Eisenberg Back on Social Security
Lou Eisenberg is a retiree living in Florida . He drop an periodic Clarence Shepard Day Jr. at thedog trackmaking penny stakes and then returns to the mobile home he shares with his long - time lady friend . It ’s a unruffled , yet often Johnny Cash - strapped , life .
Although Eisenberg spent much of grownup life changing lightheaded medulla in billet buildings and is accustomed to survive on a budget , he once endure as a multi - millionaire . On Friday the 13th in 1981 , Eisenberg advance $ 5 million in the New YorkLottery(the large payout at the time ) , which he accepted in $ 219,000 one-year installments ( $ 130,000 after tax ) for the next 20 years .
The win – and the celebrity that came with it – led to talk show appearances , television commercials and lavish stumble to foreign lands . He treat friend and category to haute culinary art , shared the winnings with two of his three wife and help whomever he could . In 2001 , when he received his concluding drawing check , he hump one thing for certain : He was flat broke – and would credibly stay that way the rest of his lifespan , subject to last on earnings from hisSocial Securityand pension checks . Still , Eisenberg does n’t repent spending it all . " I would n’t have done it any other means , " he claims [ reference : Furman ] .
Lots More Information
" If I won the drawing , I ’d still work . " It ’s a chorus I read innumerable times while researching this clause ( what people determine to do with extra money is fascinating ! ) and I ’m sure the sentiment was most earnest at the time it was uttered . It did n’t take long , though , and most soon - to - be - prostrate - broke lottery succeeder were quick for their pink slips . The winners who held on to their money seemed to hold on to their employment ethic , too , parsing out their good fortune according to a budget and planning for the long - term . Would I keep working ? You reckon I would . But just to be safe , ask me again when I win .
