Winning the $1.56 Billion Powerball Jackpot – What to Follow?

You probably heard that the current Powerball Jackpot just broke all records. Only if you’ve been under a rock you have no idea what’s actually going on in the media and that the hype is real. Imagine that, $1.56 billion, that’s with a “b” not “m”. One lucky lottery player will be in the spotlight for days, weeks, possibly months. After all, this is the biggest ever Powerball Jackpot ever.

So what will happen with the winner? Have you ever thought, what’s actually going on when the spotlight is not pointed at them? I was so intrigued about this and my curiosity led me to find out. I realized that it’s not all black and white. At first I thought “boy, it sure must be awesome having all that money and that attention”. Now I tend to have a bitter taste in my mouth. As much as I’d envy the next Powerball Jackpot winner in a way I’d rather stick to what I got.

Let’s take a look at the two sides why winning the current record breaking jackpot is not as awesome as it sounds.

$1.56b is a Lot of Money – Be Careful Not to Hurt Yourself

Try to imagine a million dollars in $100 bills. Now multiply that by 1,500 times. That’s how $1.56b looks like. Ok, so we got that straight. Physically that looks like a lot of money, but in practice that’s way more than you’d expect. With money comes power, and power corrupts us all. When I said be careful not to hurt yourself, I don’t mean you can hurt your back or something of that type. What I was trying to say that the sudden change in lifestyle can be quite damaging to your health.

Yes, jackpot winners do party a lot. In fact the parties can become the cause for health issues. Nevertheless, on the flip side, they have an outstanding cash balance that will get them the finest medical treatment if they extend too much. The health is not the only thing that can get damaged in the process. You know how you can go out, have a great time, maybe do something stupid and get away with it? Well, if you’re a Powerball jackpot winner that’s fresh out of the oven you can’t get away with it. Your social life due to privacy issues can become fairly limited. However, I wouldn’t mind the paparazzi following me around. I was born for that!

You Can’t Have All the Money – You Buy a $30m Apartment and 10 Other For Your Family

It’s never enough. Even it was $10b you still won’t enjoy in them all by yourself. You just can’t. As soon as you claim your prize and should you choose to go public friends and family members will start jumping on you. They will be rude and shameless at this point, asking for a chunk of money. Can you really say no? Imagine your sister or brother, or your cousin, who was living in a ruined condo, can you really say no to them? Frankly, neither I can say no. There you go, that’s almost 15% of the total prize. And this amount will be shredded in the early stages.

Friends and family are not the only needy individuals around you. How about the tax authorities? Boy will you have issues with them. Not in a legal way, but fiscally. In the US the tax authorities will take away 30%. To put it into practice if you decide to go with the lump sum payout the government will take away almost $250m. Yeah, those roads and schools aren’t going to build themselves. And you thought you’ll get the full prize amount?

I’m already bursting out laughing.

Choices, Choices, Choices – Options Are the Leading Cause for Mistakes

Choice is a social element. We like to show the world who we are. The best way to reveal ourselves is when we have options and we make the right decisions. So by the point when you become a multimillionaire, the hottest pieces on the market, you didn’t have your own place. You lived paycheck to paycheck and you were never able to plan your holiday few months ahead or so.

Wake up! You’re a millionaire now! Yes, now you too can choose. It’s usually at this point our fresh jackpot winners start making colossal capital investments like yachts, real estate, cars etc. These investments cost, their upkeep costs.

But the pressure is real. You just want to show yourself and those around that you’re really enjoying and possibly you want to be generous. Don’t overdo it. You’ll be sorry once you realize that your money is going down the drain.

Winning the Powerball Exposes You and Your Family

Yes, you will enjoy in your wealth and your family will, but this attracts a lot of attention. Let’s say for example you have children. Few days ago they were just average kids who played on the street. Well, not they have a tag on them. Their father or mother won more than $800m net of taxes. You see where I’m going with this?

It’s stressful. Your life will change 180. You can’t go back to your old self nor can your family. You got the attention of the media, but you also got the attention of some very cruel, evil people lurking around.

The Record Breaking Powerball Jackpot Goes to Three Lottery Players

And it happened! Fortunately or unfortunately, the jackpot will be shared among 3 lottery players coming from 3 different states. Nevertheless, $500m is still a lot of money. Without no doubt their lives will change. Depending on how they decide to use the money their lives can change for the better or for the worse.

Now you can buy gums in the shop without having to wait in the line due to people trying to buy a Powerball ticket. We can get back to basics and eventually the Powerball jackpot will become attractive once again.