Winning the lottery may be life-changing, and while suddenly obtaining a significant amount of money can be a miracle for some, for others, things can get very, very complicated.
A long time ago, Reddit members who knew lottery winners detailed what happened and how their lives changed…for the worse. Here are their unexpected and eye-opening stories:
TOP 10 LOTTERY WINNERS WHO DIED TRAGICALLY
10. CRAIGORY BURCH JR.
Craivory age 20 won nearly half a million dollars from a Georgia lottery in November 2015. Just two months later, he was later found dead after a tragic home invasion , Robbers entered his home and demanded pic.twitter.com/kPYJBsaLjC
— Chelsea Fantasy 💙⚽ (@serialkillx) June 14, 2022
1. A family in the user’s town won about $4 or 5 million. In their state, one 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 got 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. The user’s dad used to play faithfully every week and won $12 million. He gave his biological children absolutely nothing and distributed it among his new wife’s entire family. Just before he died, he sent the user’s family all letters saying how he didn’t understand why everyone cut him off ‘randomly’ and never spoke to him again.
3. The user had 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 clothes again, and they SELL THEIR HOUSE to move into a luxury apartment.”
The user said, “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 only deepened their bitterness. Two siblings had expected to share a multi-million-dollar lottery prize, but their grandmother had recently passed away, leaving behind significant debt. Without consulting them, their mother used the entire fortune to settle those debts, leaving them with nothing. Now, they work as frustrated restaurant line cooks, still resentful over the situation.
—None
5. Years ago, a young man won the lottery at just 17, but since he was underage, his father had to claim the prize on his behalf. Soon after, countless people started asking for handouts, and his father, being generous, gave away most of the money. He set aside enough for his son to make a downpayment on a house, but the rest was lost to endless requests for help. According to the young man, winning the lottery turned out to be the worst thing that ever happened to his family. In the end, he never even used the downpayment, as he was still renting at the time.
6. About 20 years ago, a man won $1 million in the lottery but chose the lump sum, taking home around $350,000 after taxes. At the time, he was unemployed and living in a trailer. Within two years, he had spent every penny, yet his circumstances remained unchanged—still jobless and in the same trailer. When the money was gone, he had nothing to show for it. A few years later, he passed away without a single penny to his name.
7. In 2010, a woman won around $18 million after taxes, but despite her sudden wealth, she remained private and low-key. An acquaintance saw her only once or twice after her win and noticed that nothing about her outward appearance or behavior seemed to change—she still dressed, acted, and carried herself the same way. Before winning, she had been in her late 20s, attractive, and focused on building a simple, family-oriented life. She had never aspired to wealth, only hoping to marry, have children, and stay close to her family in her hometown. However, the lottery win wasn’t necessarily a blessing. She disliked the brief period of local fame it brought her. She did marry her boyfriend at the time, but with her newfound fortune, he struggled to find a sense of purpose, which eventually led to depression.
The user added, “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. About 20 years ago, a young man in his early twenties won $35 million in the lottery. Like many sudden millionaires, he splurged on extravagant purchases, including houses and cars for his immediate family. However, he soon developed a drug addiction, which complicated everything. Wanting to do something meaningful, he came up with a plan to buy inexpensive homes in need of renovation and hire his friends to fix them up.
The idea wasn’t bad—he provided his friends with steady, well-paying jobs and even planned to offer them the option to buy the houses at a fair price once they were finished. But the plan quickly unraveled. Partying became the priority, and most of his friends stopped showing up to work, despite happily accepting the money and free party nights. In the end, the project fell apart.
“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,” wrote the user.
9. “My coworker won $250K on 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 iin 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. A woman who worked at a small bank in central Texas won a substantial lottery prize shortly after the lottery was introduced. Despite her newfound wealth, she had simple goals—she wanted to keep working, buy a new house for her family, and save for her children’s college education. However, after claiming the money, her life was thrown into chaos. She returned to work but had to quit within days because people wouldn’t leave her alone. The bank’s phone lines became overwhelmed with nonstop calls, making them nearly unusable. Long-lost acquaintances and complete strangers reached out, all asking for money or donations. The overwhelming attention forced her to walk away from her job and rethink how to handle her sudden fortune.
“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,” writes the user.
