What Things Have Lottery Winners Done with Their Earnings?

“What would you do if you won the lottery?” Is an age-old question that everyone has asked at least once in their lives. Winning such a vast sum of money gives endless possibilities with regards to what to spend it on; some will invest in property whilst others will blow it all on clothing. There are some people out there who’ve been good samaritans and provided people other than themselves with a share of the winnings, as well as those who choose to invest – here are some great examples of what lottery winners did with their winnings.

It is important to note that research has shown that giving a portion of winners to other people is a highly popular outcome in the decision of what to do with such a vast sum. A survey from Populus detailed that 81% of ticket holders were likely to give some money to charity, 97% to family, 22% to colleagues and only one per cent of people would keep all the winnings to themselves. This proves the idea that charity is a key part of human nature and that people, even if they win a fortune, will continue to think of others before themselves.

For instance, one particular English couple, namely George and Beryl Keates, brought home £3.5m which was divided up between family members. Each one of their four sons gained a quarter of a million pounds whilst their nine grandchildren received £10,000 apiece. Even with such a decent sum given away, the couple still spends some of the leftover sums on lottery tickets in the hope that the same can happen again and everyone else in the family can become a little bit richer. In addition, Peter Congdon of Truro, despite winning £13.5 million, stayed living in his house on a Cornwall council estate as well as providing a £1m hydrotherapy pool for the Merlin MS Centre, designed for those suffering from MS, strokes and Parkinson’s, as well as helping the National Lottery secure funding for a new community hall on the Trelander Estate and other projects that totalled over £350,000.

Some do choose to invest their lottery winnings within areas such as property, exercising their wealth to buy their dream home, as Lara and Roger Griffiths did back in 2006. They utilised their £1.8 million fortune to purchase a house worth £670,000, as well as a Porsche and two more properties to rent out, in addition to further investment within the stock market. Moreover, Illinois-based couple Merle and Patricia Butler ended up being smart with their money, taking advice from financial planners on how to best allocate and spend their $656 Mega Millions winnings.

It can be difficult to know what to do if someone does win a mighty large amount of money, and luckily there are sites that discuss how to invest lottery winnings. In particular, they discuss the process by which people should come to terms with winning such a vast sum and the necessary steps to be taken in the ensuing weeks and months. They advocate methods such as playing the long game with winnings so there’s always some cash in reserve that can be utilised, as well as consulting experts to make sure that any winners aren’t wasting their hard-earned money away.

Lotteries have often had a certain intriguing quality about them when it comes to the amount of money on offer and the endless possibilities it presents. Even if people choose to spend some on themselves, or invest for the future, there is still plenty to go round to allow people to help out those less fortunate than themselves and to make not just their own lives better, but also those in the world around them.