As one of the largest jackpots in U.S. lottery history climbs to $550 million and potentially beyond, we're reminded that winning the lottery will not solve all problems.
In fact many people's lives became notably worse after they got super rich, and they managed to lose it all quite quickly.
The Griffiths bought their dream home then life fell apart.
Before they won a $2.76 million lottery jackpot, Lara and Robert Griffith hardly ever argued.
They bought a million-dollar house and a Porsche.
But 18 months ago, six years after their win, Robert drove away in
the Porsche after Lara confronted him over emails suggesting he was
interested in another woman.
Their 14-year marriage was over, a freak fire gutted their house, and every penny of their fortune was gone.
Bud Post lost $16.2 million within a nightmarish year — his own brother put out a hit on him.
William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but was $1 million in debt within a year.
"I wish it never happened," Post said. "It was totally a nightmare."
A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings
and his brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him in the
hopes he'd inherit a share of the winnings.
After sinking money into various family businesses,
Post sank into debt and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.
Bud now lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.
Martyn and Kay Tott won a $5 million jackpot, but lost the ticket.
Martyn Tott, 33, and his 24-year-old wife of the U.K. missed out on a $5 million lottery fortune after losing their ticket.
They were able to convince officials but since there
is a 30-day time limit on reporting lost tickets, the jackpot became
the the largest unclaimed amount since the lottery began in 1994.
"Thinking you're going to have all that money is really liberating. Having it taken away has the opposite effect," Kay Tott told The Daily Mail. "It drains the life from you and puts a terrible strain on your marriage. It was the cruellest torture imaginable."
Tirabassi is back in the working class after winning $10 million nine years ago.
In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10,569,00.10 (Canadian).
She subsequently spent her winnings on a "big house, fancy cars,
designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family,
loans to friends" and in less than a decade she's back riding the bus,
working part-time, and living in a rented house."
Luckily Tirabassi put some of her windfall in trusts for her six children, who can claim the money when they turn 26.
Evelyn Adams gambled it all away in Atlantic City.
Against all odds, in the mid-1980s Adams won the lottery twice, once in 1985 and again in 1986.
The New Jersey native won a cool $5.4 million, but
AskMen.com reports she gambled it away at Atlantic City.
Today she resides in a trailer park.
Tonda Lynn Dickerson was forced to pay gift tax.
A former Waffle House waitress named Tonda Lynn Dickerson got served a big plate of karma when she refused to split her winnings with ex-colleagues and was forced to pay the tax man $1,119,347.90.
How did it happen? Dickerson placed her winnings in a corporation and
granted her family 51 percent of the stock — qualifying her for the
tax.
Gerald Muswagon ended up feeling sorry for partying.
In 1998, Gerald Muswagon won the $10 million Super 7 jackpot in Canada, reports
BigLotteryWinners.com.
But he blew it all on drinking and partying in only seven years.
Filled with remorse, Muswagon hanged himself in his parents' garage in 2005.
Suzanne Mullins couldn't dig herself out of debt.
When Mullins won the U.S. lotto in 1993, she opted for yearly payouts instead of a lump sum, reports MSN.
She quickly found herself in debt, using future payouts as collateral for a $200,000 loan.
Mullins later switched to a lump sum payout, but never paid back the
debt. The loan company filed suit and won a $154,000 settlement that was
all but worthless — Mullins had no assets.
Americo Lopes quit his job, lied about it, then got sued.
Construction worker Americo Lopes won the New Jersey lottery, quit his job and then lied about it, claiming he needed foot surgery.
After coming clean to an ex-colleague, he and a few others ganged up on Lopes for not splitting the winnings as promised.
Sadly, the court ordered Lopes to split the prize.
Ibi Roncaioli was murdered by her husband after she squandered her winnings.
Ontario
resident Ibi Roncailoli walked away with $5 million in a 1991 Lotto 649
drawing, but she didn't tell her husband how she decided to spend it.
When Joseph Roncailoli, a gynecologist, found out Ibi gave $2 million
of her fortune to a secret child she'd had with another man, he
poisoned her with painkillers, the Toronto Star reports.
He was found guilty of manslaughter and reportedly asked Ibi's family to help foot the bill for her funeral.
Michael Carroll had a fetish for hookers.
Michael Carroll was at his peak when he won Britain's £9.7 million ($15 million) jackpot in 2002, The Week reports.
But a penchant for life in the fast lane — cocaine, parties, hookers, and cars — put him back at square one in five years.
Last we heard, the ex-garbageman was hoping to get his old job back.
Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. was undone by casino lawsuits.
In
2002, West Virginia building contractor Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr.
walked away with $114 million after taxes on a $315 Million multi-state
Powerball draw.
That was just about his last stroke of good fortune.
In two separate instances, thieves ran off with $745,000 Whittaker stashed in his car. Later on, he was sued by Caesar's Atlantic City for allegedly bouncing $1.5 million in checks.
Within four years, his fortune was gone.
Billy Bob Harrell Jr. had his prayers answered, but his luck ran out after he couldn't say no.
A Pentecostal preacher working as a stockboy at Home Depot got his prayers answered when he hit the $31 million jackpot in 1997, Business Pundit reports.
At first, life was good with Billy Bob buying a ranch, six other homes, and some new cars.
But like many others who win the lottery, he just couldn't say "NO!" when people asked for a handout.
Later in life he divorced and eventually committed suicide.
Willie Hurt's crack addiction did him in.
In 1989, Willie won a $3.1 million jackpot in the Michigan Lottery.
Fast-forward two years later and Hurt got divorced, lost custody of
his children, was charged with attempted murder, and picked up one
helluva crack-cocaine addiction.
The habit was so bad, it sucked away his entire fortune.
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