It’s a common assumption that winning the lottery will solve all your financial problems for the rest of your life. We cannot blame you for sharing this opinion. After all, how can life be bad with millions in the bank? Well, there is a difference between theory and practice.
We investigated the validity of this claim and discovered that the number of broke lottery winners is surprisingly high. There are many documented cases of how a jackpot prize can change your life, and some are not for the better. Let’s examine a dozen cautionary tales of how lottery winners lost millions.
Quick Jump
- Jack Whittaker Managed to Give Away $312 Million
- David Lee Edwards $27 Million Disappeared Buying Goodies
- Curtis Sharps’ $5 Million Jackpot Consumed by Extravagant Lifestyle
- Billie Bob Harrell Jr. Irresponsible Behavior Cost Him $31 Million
- Evelyn Adams Gave Loans With Her $5.4 Million Lottery Win
- Michael Carroll Drug-Fueled Partying Burned Through $11.8 Million
- Daniel Carley Won CA$5 Million and Ended Behind Bars
- Suzanne Mullins $4.2 Million Prize Did Not Stop Her Going into Debt
- William Post $16.2 Million Lotto Win Attracted a Hitman
- Alex Toth’s $13 Million Win Placed Him in a Mental Institution
- FAQs
Jack Whittaker Managed to Give Away $312 Million
Pocketing a $314 million Powerball jackpot can set you up for life. However, West Virginian Jack Whittaker tested this theory after he entered history books in 2002 by winning the largest lottery prize at the time. Whittaker decided to get paid all at once, and after-tax deductions took home $113.4 million.
It’s worth pointing out that the 55-year-old Whittaker already had a successful construction business valued at several million. Unlike some other cases, Jack was not seduced by a luxurious lifestyle. The newfound wealth started disappearing mainly because of Jack’s habit of donating money to family members, churches, and strangers.
Jack’s generosity did not do him any favors with fate. Tragedies started to plague him. A daughter died from cancer in 2009, and a granddaughter died from a drug overdose in 2004. One of his properties burned down, and his wife divorced him. In a TV interview, Jack said he was a cursed lottery winner. Until the end of his life in 2020, Jack was sued for different reasons and had developed a gambling issue.
David Lee Edwards $27 Million Disappeared Buying Goodies
Kentucky native David Lee Edwards won a $27 million jackpot playing the Powerball in 2001. But five years after the big win, Edwards had to vacate his mansion and move into a storage shed. David is a good case study on how to squander millions on an extensive car collection, exclusive properties, and drug addiction.
Edwards and his wife manage to spend half of their wealth in the first year of acquiring the $27 million. And 12 years after the life-changing win, David died in hospice care all alone. Edwards was a convicted felon and spent a third of his life in prison before winning the jackpot. However, the big break that arrived with the jackpot did not change the course of his life for the better.
Curtis Sharps’ $5 Million Jackpot Consumed by Extravagant Lifestyle
New Jersey native Curtis Sharp collected a $5 million lottery win in 1982 with his wife and girlfriend. You probably already realized Sharp was an eccentric character. The reckless behavior was a big reason for Curtis losing it all. For context, the $5 million Sharp won equals $15 million in today’s money when adjusted for inflation.
The money Curtis won by playing the New York Lottery was spent on an extravagant lifestyle, with the usual purchases of cars, houses, and the opposite sex. Not surprisingly, when the money was gone, Sharps found God and became a Baptist minister.
Billie Bob Harrell Jr. Irresponsible Behavior Cost Him $31 Million
Spending lottery winnings is not a challenge for many of the people on our list. However, Billie Bob Harrell Jr. managed to spend $31 million in two years. Such a rapid pace of going broke is not something matched by other lottery winners. As a Home Depot employee, Harrell’s win on the Lotto Texas jackpot could be viewed as a rags-to-riches story.
But the big win caused tragic consequences for Billie. Two years after claiming the massive prize, Harrell committed suicide. The money disappeared after a string of purchases and donations.
Evelyn Adams Gave Loans With Her $5.4 Million Lottery Win
Nearly all of the broke lottery winners that we found were only lucky enough to win one prize. However, Evelyn Adams is a special case, she won two New Jersey lotteries. In 1985, Evelyn won $3.9 million, and in 1986, Adams snagged a $1.4 million prize for a combined value of $5.4 million.
Adams did not continue testing her luck and stopped playing the lottery. Evelyn’s money dried up in 2012 after a series of bad investments and loans to friends, who did not feel obligated to return the money.
Michael Carroll Drug-Fueled Partying Burned Through $11.8 Million
When a young man suddenly comes into possession of a ton of money, it’s generally not a recipe for success. Michael Carroll from the UK is a good example. At 19 years old, Michael won the National Lottery jackpot of £9,7 million in 2002. Carroll had issues collecting the prize money, because he did not have a bank account, and opening one was a problem thanks to his extensive criminal record.
Once Michael found a bank happy to do business with him, the money migrated to his new bank account, and Carroll started spending and gifting. Some news reports indicate that his mom, sister, and aunt received a million pounds. The rest of the winnings were wasted on partying and materialistic excesses. Some UK media reported that Carroll was bankrupt by 2006.
Daniel Carley Won CA$5 Million and Ended Behind Bars
Canadian Dan Carley bought several Ontario Big Game scratch tickets in 2006 and landed CA$5 million, the largest instant prize in the history of the lottery of this Canadian province. Three years later, the money was gone.
According to Carley’s lawyer, Brenda Sandulak, Daniel planned to leave the winnings at the bank and accumulate interest. However, a drug addiction and a few bad investments caused Daniel to deviate from his original plan. Carley ended up in jail for two and half years for dealing drugs.
Suzanne Mullins $4.2 Million Prize Did Not Stop Her Going into Debt
In 1993, Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million from the Virginia State Lottery. Mullins agreed to split the winnings with her daughter and husband and received 47K per year over 20 years. However, her son-in-law’s medical bill required Mullins to help out with $1 million, and her financial problems started to pile up.
Mullins had to take out a loan with the lottery winnings as collateral. Because she could not make the payments for the $200K loan, she ended up in court and had to pay another $154,000 to the lending company, leaving her with nothing.
William Post $16.2 Million Lotto Win Attracted a Hitman
Pennsylvanian William Post won $16.2 million in 1988 after buying a lottery ticket with the last money left from his disability check. Post was generous, gifting cars to his siblings, but one of them got greedy and hired a hitman, planning to collect a substance inheritance from William.
The long catalog of ridiculous purchases, which also included a plane, sailboat, and a mansion, eroded the lottery winning, while his girlfriend scooped up a third of his winnings. Post filed for bankruptcy and passed away in 2006 without any inheritance for his nine children.
Alex Toth’s $13 Million Win Placed Him in a Mental Institution
Alex Toth won $13 million in 1990 by playing the lottery in Florida. Like most lottery winners, Alex decided to get paid in annual installments of about $666K per year. For the next decade, Alex and his wife did not curtail their spending impulses.
The unchecked lifestyle resulted in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection filing in 2001, while in 2006, the Toths were indicted for filing false tax returns. The cascading problems resulted in a divorce and Alex died from a heart attack in 2008.
