Here’s what people shared:
1.
“Someone in my town won $110 million while on a holiday somewhere in the country.
The dude became really arrogant and destroyed his relationship with both his wife and son.
He bought some of the most expensive cars and multiple houses/properties.
He then began wanting maids and private chefs, which led to his wife divorcing him.
His son cant stand him anymore, and the wife is paranoid of him showing up to her house.
Its a sad story.”
u/notchashook
2.
“I worked with a lady who was two cubicles down from me.
Well, she sure did.
She was the first solo winner in my city, and she quit Monday morning.
She and her husband didnt change much.
They just remodeled their home and continued to live simple lives.
She was 42 when she won.
This was about 10 years ago now.”
u/Boujie_Assassin
3.
“A guy I went to high school with won the lottery in his early 30s.
u/Elegant-Pressure-290
4. u/prestige_worldwide70
5.
“My sibling’s childhood friend’s parents won $1,000 a week for life in the early ’80s.
It was hell for them.
They were already the ‘rich’ relatives to both their families.
In reality, they were upper-middle class.
They sold their house and essentially went into hiding for over four years.
Their relatives were absolutely RELENTLESS in trying to track them down to get their share.
Their kids (14f, 10m) had to be pulled out of school.
The family eventually modified their last name to be untraceable.
Luckily, our neighbors intervened and made them leave.
My brother was hiding in the house.
He recognized them and had ducked down the alley to the back of our house.
We barely saw his friend after that.
I think they moved to a larger city on the east coast.”
u/Texan2020katza
6.
Blew through the remaining money on frivolous purchases including cars, boats, and jewelry.
He got taken advantage of by people, but he was super popular and the life of the party.
u/theycallmeMrPickles
7.
“My own dad won a few years ago.
Not a huge amount, but in the seven-figure range.
My dad has become pretty weird about it.
Hes too afraid to spend it.
That crap was a scam.”
u/GladPermission6053
8.
But, she did split the prize with her first husband.”
u/watchingbigbrother63
9.
“He bought a house, got sober, and invested a bunch of time into hobbies.
He went from being a good guy to a great guy.
Super proud of him.”
u/LilTrumpWiener
10.
“They won $2 million and paid off their debt, plus made a few large purchases.
Friends, relatives, churches, and charities found out and asked for loans and handouts.
u/cobalt_phantom
11.
“Years ago, I worked with a guy who won the lottery.
Apparently, people came out of the woodwork looking for handouts, and the dad was a generous guy.
My friend said winning the lottery was the worst thing that happened to his family.
u/girlxlrigx
12.
“My coworker won $250,000 on a scratch-it.
He ended up with $170,000.
He bought a house and a used car, then took his kids to Disneyland.
Then, the story gets weird.
Then, he proceeded to never find a house.
He spent ALL the money living in a garbage hotel.
He had some pretty big problems that just seemed to get worse.
u/am_with_stupid
13.
I became a widower, and their reaction was to throw money at the problem.
No wonder I have no contact with them.”
u/EuphoricRecover1347
14.
“A friend of a friend ran a restaurant in NYC.
The guys in the kitchen (dishwashers, porters, etc.)
were in a lottery syndicate that cleared them a few million each.
They decided to keep working.
And it’s probably not surprising.
u/JBI1971
15.
“My friend’s aunt won about $800,000.
u/ribozomes
16.
We all laughed until we realized she was serious!
I knew her on a professional level only, yet am so proud of her.”
u/Dry-Ranch1
17. u/FormerStuff
18.
“I know someone who won $750,000 and pretty much blew/wasted it in under two months.
The truck they bought their kid was as much as the house.”
u/Halycon1313
19.
“A friend’s family won when we were in junior high.
Their house started getting all kinds of gaudy adornments.
Big stone lions on each side of the drive entrance.
Comedically tall entrance door on a single story ranch.
Giant waterslide into their tiny pool.”
u/Qlinkenstein
20.
Her personality didnt change at all.
Shes goofy as hell with her friends and an absolute sweetheart.”
u/LoopyMercutio
21.
“I worked with a woman who won a substantial amount shortly after the lottery was started.
The phone calls to the bank alone tied up our phone system to the point where they were unusable.
She quit, moved, and went no-contact with most people after that because she couldnt handle the hounding.
I felt really bad for her because she seemed kinda shell-shocked from all the attention.”
u/OomaTwoBlades
22.
I definitely envied those kids when I was younger.”
u/banana_latte17
23.
“My ex’s father won the BIG Powerball in Michigan in the ’90s.
u/butterfly105
24.
She immediately dropped off the grid, got an attorney, and claimed the money without revealing her identity.
Her personality remained the same, but she became a lot more carefree and took a year off work.
u/Diff_EQ
25.
The only change we noticed was that he bought an H2 Hummer.
He was still a pretty cool dude and kept teaching, as far as I know.”
u/threeLetterMeyhem
26.
“My friends family won when we were in fourth grade.
They were already well-off, and their lives didnt change that much; their vacations just got nicer.
What blew my mind was that this was theirsecondwin.
First time was $50,000, second was $8 or $9 million.
The dad just loved playing the lotto.”
u/RoeblingYork
27.
“Her parents bought a large luxury house on a private road in a small English town.
They had both their daughters' families move into the house, too.
A year later, the dad left the mom for a young piece of skirt.
It’s only been five years, but the money is all gone.
Lavish holidays and overpriced rentals chewed through their funds.
The mom now works nights in a care home and rents a small place with her two daughters.
Both had their partners leave them as the money ran out.
u/placidkiwi
28.
“Idiot had a gigantic, tacky wedding to someone he soon divorced and had to pay out.
Now he’s bankrupt.”
u/Solid_Preparation_89
29.
In the end, they spent every last penny.”
u/scarlettcelese
30.
“This girl was jumping from one crappy job to another.
u/Vali_3
31.
“The dude who details my car won the lottery, and he still details cars.
He used the money to buy his kids houses, and says he just likes making people happy.
A ridiculously amazing man.”
u/MiloRoast
32.
“Childhood best friends' parents won a million.
They put one daughter through dental college, and the other through college for speech pathology in America.
They still live in the same house I spent so much time in as a kid.
As far as I know, they kept their same jobs until retirement.
I went to their house once as an adult, and they were fostering kittens.
I couldn’t think of someone I’d be happier to win.”
u/Cigfrain
33.
“30 years ago, a high school teacher won the lottery.
He gave half to his brother.
He bought himself a fancy car and continued to teach.
He finally met someone to marry.
He already had a house and just lived in the community.
It was something like $10 million.
When I asked him why he didnt retire, he said, ‘I am 30 years old.
What else am I going to do with the rest of my life?’
So, he taught for a few decades and then retired.”
u/Isp2005
34.And: “A family member won a relatively small $200,000.
I advised him to consult a financial planner to figure out how to put the money to work.
Instead, he quit his job and threw it away inside of 18 months.
u/THAT-GuyinMN
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
