The story of a lottery winner is always exciting and inspirational. Someone’s life-changing overnight is always intriguing and people want to know how the winners are managing their sudden success. There is always an interest to know how the life of lottery winners has changed.
Biggest Powerball Winners: Where Are They?
While some turn their life around with the winnings, it is surprising to know that a lot of lottery winners end up making terrible investment decisions and lose everything. Here are some of the life stories of the biggest Powerball winners after their lucky break.
09. Jack Wittaker
Wittaker worked as the president of Diversified Enterprises Construction in West Virginia for twelve years. He was already financially stable and has a net worth of $17 million when he hit the jackpot. Jack bought tickets worth $100 just for fun while out for breakfast. He won and took home $113 million.
Instead of bringing fortune, his winnings came with a lot of troubles. Some broke into his car and took away thousands of dollars. He also endures the unfortunate death of his granddaughter. His problems continued as he got arrested for DUI and was also sued by Ceasar’s Atlantic Casino. He got sick and died on 27 June 2020.08. Manual Franco
Franco purchased a $10 ticket and was lucky to take home a staggering amount of $326 million. He was surrounded by financial woes when he struck gold. On 2019 April 23 his financial trouble was over because he got lucky.
After Franco’s win, there were a lot of imposters on the internet claiming to be him and scamming money from people. His attorney said that he went off the internet to protect his privacy and identity. He liked traveling and also wanted to use the money to help his parents. 07. Rober Bailey
Robert Bailey won the huge amount of $687.8 million which he split with Lerynne West. He won the Powerball jackpot in 2018 on October 27. He hired a lawyer and a financial advisor without wasting any time to make sure he could take good care of his fortune.
06. Mureen Smith and David Kaltschmitdt
The case of a Florida couple is rare and unique. Smith and Kaltsschmidt won $528.8 million in 2016 January. The big win did not change their lifestyle at all. They wanted to stay private and not tell many people about their fortune. They did use the money to upgrade their cars. The only information available about the couple is that they hired financial advisors.
05. Cindy and Mark Hill
The couple from a small-town Missouri was not in the best financial condition as Cindy Hill was laid off. Mark Hill worked in a meat processing factory and was barely keeping the family afloat. They had three adult children of their own and a six-year-old adopted daughter from China.
In November 2012 the family got lucky when they bought a ticket. The Powerball was at the highest level ever at that time and the struggling family won a whopping prize of $587 million. They chose the lump sum option and took home $300 million.
After the big win, the Hills took a trip to Ireland and invested in the local community sewage plant.
They invested money in the construction of a new ambulance station. Mark Hill passed away on 20 March 2019 and the funeral was not open to the public. 04. Gloria McKenzie
Gloria McKenzie won the Powerball when she was eighty-four. She claimed her winnings as a single lump-sum payment and got $370 million. Unfortunately, she fell victim to a trap set by her son and financial advisor.
After taxes, McKenzie took home a substantial amount of $278 million. She gave control of her money to her son who shared the management of prize money with a financial advisor Harry “Hank” Madden. In the lawsuit filed by Gloria’s attorney, it was claimed that she had no experience handling millions of dollars. Her investment decisions were too conservative and gave low returns. She ended up with just $2 million in fees.
03. Lerynne West
Lerynne West was one of the lucky people who split the $687.8 Powerball jackpot. She almost lost her ticket while moving out of her house. She was an employee of a local health insurance company. West left her job as soon as she won the lottery.
Her first investment was establishing the Callum Foundation, named after her late son who was born immature. West also set aside money for grandchildren’s college education. She also used the money to help her family members and friends. Just like other lottery winners she was approached by a lot of online scammers but did not fall into the trap. She also encouraged others to be careful and be aware of scammers.
02. Mavis Wanczyk
Wanczyk from Massachusetts was the lucky winner of &758.7 million Powerball on August 23, 2017. It was the biggest win on a single ticket. The 53-year-old mother of two took an impressive amount of $336 million after taxes. She had worked as a patient carer for 32 years. She gave up her job after her win.
Wanczyk’s identity was made public and bad luck followed her from there. Her life was disrupted by the win as people from all around started to contact her. Her privacy and safety were compromised. She had to get help from the police to ensure the safety of her family. People were also using her name to scam others by making false investment promises.
01. John and Lisa Robinson
Powerball hit the height of $1.6 billion in January 2016. A lot of people were buying tickets and three lucky winners hit the jackpot and John and Lisa Robinson were among them. The lucky couple won an impressive amount of $327.8 million.
Lisa Robinson wanted her life to stay the same. But their identity was revealed and she had to quit her job because of unwanted attention.
The couple bought a mansion whose worth was estimated to be $6.2 million. It was spread across 320 acres so they could live a private life away from the limelight.
Conclusion
These stories of Powerball winners are interesting and show that sometimes even winning large sums of money overnight cannot fix all your troubles. If you are lucky to win millions in a lottery it is essential to tread with extreme care and focus on your privacy.
