Thursday, October 20, 2005
Curse of lady luck - MSNBC
Downsides to winning millions in lottery
... “There's a great American myth that money is great and more is better. The truth is a windfall can cause as many problems as it can solve,” says Susan Bradley, a financial planner who often works with lottery winners. “A big lottery win usually starts off with a lot of extreme behavior.” ...
Since Jack Whittaker's $113 million payout in 2002, he's been charged with assault and drunken driving. He lost his marriage and even his 17-year-old granddaughter, Brandi. The teen disappeared last year after reports of drug use and was later found dead. ...
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Related article: Sometimes winners are the real losers
58-year-old Jack Whitaker, who won nearly $315 million in 2002 has become the poster child for how not to handle a stroke of what should be good luck. He has had hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash stolen from his vehicles, house and office, including over $500,000 after he passed out in a strip bar. He pleaded no contest to assaulting a bar manager, and had to surrender his driver's license and undergo substance-abuse counseling after being arrested for drunk driving for a second time. The most disturbing — last year his 17-year-old granddaughter was found dead of a drug overdose underneath an abandoned van.
Another Texas lottery winner, Billie Bob Harrell, Jr. committed suicide less than two years after winning 31 million dollars in 1997. One of the reasons? Everyone — family, friends and strangers -- had been hitting him up for money.
Minnesota lottery winner Victoria A. Zell crashed her SUV into a truck while driving drunk, killing one passenger and paralyzing another. She was then arrested a few months later for possessing 0.7 grams of methamphetamine.
A study three years ago found that one third of lottery winners eventually went bankrupt. One third! I know we all like to believe we would not be one of "them" that we would handle it better. I buy a ticket on occasion and like to think that if I won, I’d quit my job and live happily somewhere else. I did win bingo once when I was a kid and now that I think about it, I don't know what happened to that money.
But coming back to the point, when you don't win, don't despair. You might be better for it.
Downsides to winning millions in lottery
... “There's a great American myth that money is great and more is better. The truth is a windfall can cause as many problems as it can solve,” says Susan Bradley, a financial planner who often works with lottery winners. “A big lottery win usually starts off with a lot of extreme behavior.” ...
Since Jack Whittaker's $113 million payout in 2002, he's been charged with assault and drunken driving. He lost his marriage and even his 17-year-old granddaughter, Brandi. The teen disappeared last year after reports of drug use and was later found dead. ...
***
Related article: Sometimes winners are the real losers
58-year-old Jack Whitaker, who won nearly $315 million in 2002 has become the poster child for how not to handle a stroke of what should be good luck. He has had hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash stolen from his vehicles, house and office, including over $500,000 after he passed out in a strip bar. He pleaded no contest to assaulting a bar manager, and had to surrender his driver's license and undergo substance-abuse counseling after being arrested for drunk driving for a second time. The most disturbing — last year his 17-year-old granddaughter was found dead of a drug overdose underneath an abandoned van.
Another Texas lottery winner, Billie Bob Harrell, Jr. committed suicide less than two years after winning 31 million dollars in 1997. One of the reasons? Everyone — family, friends and strangers -- had been hitting him up for money.
Minnesota lottery winner Victoria A. Zell crashed her SUV into a truck while driving drunk, killing one passenger and paralyzing another. She was then arrested a few months later for possessing 0.7 grams of methamphetamine.
A study three years ago found that one third of lottery winners eventually went bankrupt. One third! I know we all like to believe we would not be one of "them" that we would handle it better. I buy a ticket on occasion and like to think that if I won, I’d quit my job and live happily somewhere else. I did win bingo once when I was a kid and now that I think about it, I don't know what happened to that money.
But coming back to the point, when you don't win, don't despair. You might be better for it.
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