Biggest Lottery Winners Where Are They Now

For many people, winning the lottery is a dream come true. There are often millions of dollars that are awarded and life seems like it would be easier. For many lottery winners, however, life becomes anything but simple. It could be said, in fact, that winning the lottery won't make you happy at all.

1. What Stores Have The Most Lottery Winners
2. What Has Happened To Big Lottery Winners
3. What Happened To Lottery Winners
4. Biggest Lottery Winners Where Are They Now

A Typical Story? Lisa Arcand won $1 million in the Massachusetts lottery in 2004. The Lucky Biggest Lottery Winners, What are they doing now? Most of us imagine that all lottery winners live happily ever after, but that simply isn't the reality for a lot of them. Even with hundreds of millions at their disposal, the biggest jackpot winners are still regular people. And that means they still have.

In multiple studies, people who win the lottery are twice as likely to file for bankruptcy every year than the general population.

Why is it that lottery winners can go bankrupt so quickly? Part of it is because of the rapid influx of money. When possessions are the gears that generate personal happiness, it is easy to go on a spending spree to buy nice things. It can even seem like that money will never run out! That's the problem with money, however, because even hundreds of millions of dollars will eventually disappear under poor budgeting habits.

Three Fast Facts About Lottery Winner Bankruptcies

1. According to multiple studies, about 70% of all lottery winners end up going broke and filing for a bankruptcy.
2. About 1% of lottery winners will go bankrupt every single year.
3. In a recent study of lottery winners, only 55% of them felt like they were happier after winning the lottery than before it – 43% said that their money had no effect on their happiness.

Takeaway: If you look at this sample data, it is clear to see that money doesn't actually buy happiness. It can purchase a peace of mind because there is an improved level of financial security so that there are fewer worries. 23% of lottery winners say, however, that the reason they were happier because they could buy whatever they wanted. There were even 2% of respondents who said that they were less happy with life after winning the lottery! Although it seems like a dream come true, without proper management, it could end up destroying a life instead.

What Does Winning The Lottery Actually Do To Life?

1. 95% of people who have won the lottery are still married after they've won all that cash.
2. 58% of people say that their extended family is happier because they were able to win the lottery and provide better financial support.
3. 37% of people stated that their families were less happy because of winning the lottery.
4. 9 out of every 10 lottery winners believe that their new family wealth will be gone by the third generation.
5. 83% of lottery winners have given at least some portion of their winnings to another family member, with siblings being the most likely family members to receive some cash.
6. 17% of families asked their family member who won a lottery of at least $100,000 for a cash gift. Lottery winners who won at least $4 million saw twice as many cash requests.
7. 90% of winners who already had a best friend say that their relationship is still intact.

What Stores Have The Most Lottery Winners

Takeaway: Although it is easy to see how money could change someone or a family, it's refreshing to see that for most families it doesn't make too many changes. Relationships are intact for the most part and families are able to prepare for a more secure financial future. It is interesting, however, to see that most families believe that the money which was won will be gone in less than a century – even with proper investments. This means bankruptcy isn't just a risk right now for a lottery winner. It also means that families over the long term may also be at a higher risk for a bankruptcy as well.

What Do Lottery Winners Spend Money On?

1. 44% of lottery winners had spent all of their winnings within 5 years of winning the lottery.
2. 4 out of every 10 lottery winners have made a focused effort to increase the amount of contributions to a charity.
3. 1 out of 5 lottery winners decide to take their first vacation outside of their home country for the first time with their winnings.
4. 7% of lottery winners decide to purchase a RV of some sort.
5. 75% of lottery winners who live in an apartment at the time of their win will move into a single family home.
6. 1 out of 4 lottery winners have purchased land or a home in a foreign country with their new money.
7. Only 3% of lottery winners have moved their children from public to private schools. Underdog fight wins.

Takeaway: The most interesting statistic of all is that 1 in 3 lottery winners have gained weight since they won the lottery. The effect of stuff on happiness must also transfer over to dietary aspects as people purchase food items that they may not always purchase or choose to eat out more often because of their increase in available money. It is clear to see that lottery winners have a higher risk of bankruptcy simply because there is a lack of control within the spending process for a vast majority of people and little focus on long-term investments.

It Doesn't Take A Lot To Increase Bankruptcy Risk

1. Lottery winners with a prize of at least $50,000 are more likely to file for bankruptcy within 5 years of winning their prize.
2. Overall happiness levels of lottery winners spikes when they win, but returns to pre-winning levels within months.
3. It's not all bad – a 2006 UK study showed that lottery winners tend to have better psychological health than the general population.
4. For lottery prizes that are less than 1 year of a person's income, personal happiness is not affected whatsoever and neither are the bankruptcy risks.
5. One of the greatest misconceptions that people have in winning the lottery is that it will change your outlook on life, but it does not change you as a person.
6. New Yorkers are shelling out more than $9 billion a year to try their luck in the lotto.

Takeaway: If you ever win the lottery, create a budget and a new life plan. Keep your spending in control. Don't do anything crazy with your cash. Be smart about your investments and you'll be able to pursue your dreams. If you don't, you might just end up filing for bankruptcy too.

Nearly one-third of U.S. lottery winners declare bankruptcy, often within just a few years of their big win, according to a study by Wolf Street. After sizable tax obligations, lavish spending decisions and prior monetary commitments to friends, family, or the clerk at the liquor store, winning the lotto is often more of a curse than a blessing.

After a South Carolina winner bought a winning ticket for last Tuesday's $1.5-billion Mega Millions jackpot, here's a look at some of the people who wound up worse off than they were before after hitting it big, according to Bankrate data:

• William Post III, $16.2 million. Just three months after winning the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988, Post experienced crime, bankruptcy and poor spending decisions, such as the purchase of a restaurant and an airplane. Post was $500,000 in debt and filed for bankruptcy in the early 1990s, according to Bankrate.
• Evelyn Marie Adams, $5.4 million. Adams won the New Jersey lottery twice in 1985 and 1986 and admitted to being broke in an interview with The New York Post in 2012. Adams reportedly gambled excessively and lost the majority of her money in Atlantic City.
• Andrew 'Jack' Whittaker, $315 million. Whittaker's 2002 lump-sum payout of $170.5 million supplemented his existing net worth of roughly $17 million. The millionaire donated a good percentage of his earnings to various charities and foundations until his divorce and the death of his granddaughter. From there, he experienced extensive theft and began drinking heavily.
• Alex and Rhoda Toth, $13 million. The couple accepted payments of $666,666 over a 20-year span in 1990, but filed for bankruptcy in 2006 after living lavish lifestyles in Vegas and enduring a sleuth of legal expenses resulting from family drama. The couple was later charged with tax evasion. Rhoda was sentenced to two years in prison and was fined $1.1 million.
• Billie Bob Harrell Jr., $31 million. Coined as 'Santa Claus,' Harrell paid bills and bought new cars and homes for his family before purchasing roughly 500 turkeys for the poor. Less than two years after winning the lotto, Harrell took his own life, according to Bankrate.
• Janite Lee, $18 million. An entrepreneur in St. Louis, Lee donated wads of money to the Democratic National Committee, as well individual political candidates. She also donated to Washington University and its law school, according to Bankrate. In 2001, after extensive spending, Lee filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left to her name. She had reportedly lost roughly $350,000 gambling.
• Suzanne Mullins, $4.2 million. Mullins won in the Virginia lottery in 1993, a prize that amounted to 20 annual payments of $50,000. In 1998, Mullins took out a loan from the People's Lottery Foundation, but was later sued in 2004 for owing the foundation over $150,000 from the loan.
• Denise Rossi, $1.3 million. Upon winning the lottery, Rossi's first endeavor was to divorce her husband, who had no knowledge of the win. In 1999, the ex-husband sued and the judge declared that Rossi had violated state asset-disclosure laws. As a result, the ex-husband received all of the winnings, according to Bankrate.

What Has Happened To Big Lottery Winners

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What Happened To Lottery Winners

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Biggest Lottery Winners Where Are They Now

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