Lottery winners who lost their money

Lottery winners and newfound wealth

Not all lottery winners know how to cling to their money and make the most of their newfound wealth. Some blow through their prizes at blazing speeds and get involved in various scandals that cause them to lose all their money. It is worth taking a closer look at some of these cases, especially for lottery players who might one day share the same good fortune.

Throwing millions down the drain

Jack Whittaker is one of the big time lottery winners whose story is quite popular among other players, because he won the largest single Powerball jackpot. After taxation he received a lump payment of $115 million but he somehow found a way of throwing it all down the drain. He spent most of his money in strip clubs and even got robbed of half a million by a bartender, with the rest of his fortune being lost in expensive lawsuits.

Michael Carroll used to work as a garbage man before winning $14.5 million, but immediately after this fortunate event “man” was extracted from his profession and what remained was not flattering. He did whatever he could to stand out from the crowd in all the bad ways and quickly became a hated figure in the United Kingdom. Many rejoiced when they heard that he went broke and was living on welfare.

Jay Sommers’s story is quite similar, as the American winner spent a significant part of his 6 millions jackpot for expensive cars. When the IRS came to collect its share, he was already broke following a string of bad investments and in the end he returned to his pizza delivery job.

When money doesn’t bring happiness

Willie Hurt learned this the hard way, when he won a bit over $3 million and turned from a respectable father and husband, into a train wreck. He divorced, lost custody of the children and in the end was charged with attempted murder, not to mention that he spent all his money on cocaine.

Ibi Roncaoli’s story is equally sad, as the $5 million prize won in 1991 sent her on a crash course that eventually led to her demise. She wasted the money in casinos and when her husband found out about her addiction and the negative impact it had on the family, he chose to murder her with a lethal injection.

For Alex and Rhoda Toth winning the $13 million jackpot appeared to be a godsend, but unfortunately for them they didn’t enjoy the money too long. The Internal Revenue Service collected its share and with the couple failing to abide the law, they ran into legal troubles and in 16 years they were broke again.

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