Mentality of the Poor: Incredible Stories of Lottery Winners Who Blew Their Fortunes

I came across the following stories on businessinsider.com and felt compelled to share them. Sincerely, these stories will elicit different kinds of reaction from you but after reading this post, I urge you to not just shake your head but to make a commitment that you will never again think like the poor. Enjoy the read.

In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare won $10,569,00.10 (Canadian). She spent her winnings by buying a big house, fancy cars, designer clothes; throwing lavish parties, embarking on exotic trips and giving handouts to family and loans to friends. Now, less than a decade after, she rides buses, works part-time and lives in a rented house. But she was fortunate to have put some of the money in trusts for her six children, who can claim their money when they turn 26.

Evelyn Adams won the lottery twice; in 1985 and in 1986. She won a total of $5.4 million but she gambled it all away at Atlantic City. Today she resides in a trailer park.

Michael Carroll won a £9.7 million jackpot in 2002. But he spent his fortune on cocaine, parties, hookers and cars, and in five years lost everything. After blowing his fortune, Michael, an ex-garbage man, was reported to be trying to get his old job back.

In 2002, Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. received $114 million after taxes from a draw. But on two occasions, he was robbed of $745,000 which he stashed in his car. He was was sued by Caesar's Atlantic City for allegedly bouncing $1.5 million in checks and within four years, his fortune was gone.

Billy Bob Harrell Jr. won $31 million in 1997. He bought a ranch, six homes and some cars. But he was unable to say ‘no’ to people who asked him for gifts. He eventually divorced and committed suicide.

In 1989, Willie Hurt hit a $3.1 million jackpot. Only two years later, he was divorced, lost custody of his children, was charged with attempted murder and became a crack-cocaine addict. The habit was so bad, it sucked away his entire fortune.

In 1993, Janite Lee won $18 million but she blew it on charity - A reading room was named after her at Washington University's law school, and she was a major donor for the Democratic Party – gambling and credit card debt. She filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Luke Pittard won £1.3 million in 2006 but spent it all on a trip to the Canary Islands, a wedding and a house. A year and a half later, he was forced to take a job at McDonald's flipping burgers. He says he's happy, and his leftover winnings collect interest.

In 1988 William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million but an ex-girlfriend sued him for a share of the winnings and won; his brother hired a hit man hoping to inherit some winnings and relatives incessantly bugged him for money. Within a year, Post was $1 million in debt and filing for bankruptcy. Now he lives on food stamps and a $450/month stipend.

In 1998, Gerald Muswagon won $10 million. But he wasted it all in seven years, drinking and partying. He hanged himself in his parents' garage in 2005.

Alex and Rhoda Toth won $13 million in 1990. Within 15 years they were destitute. The couple declared bankruptcy and were eventually accused of tax evasion by the IRS. Alex passed away before his case went to trial and Rhoda eventually served two years in prison.

Vivian Nicholson won a fortune £152,300 in 1961 and she blew it all on clothes. She is now jobless

Callie Rogers won £1.9 million in 2003 at age 16. She married a loser, had two children, and blew the rest on partying, vacations and gift. She now works as a cleaning woman and is reportedly facing bankruptcy.

After the reading the stories, a thought that I have been pondering upon for some time now was again brought to the fore: wealth is about the mentality one possesses and not what one has in one’s purse/account. The stories bring to light, the mentality of the poor. The following are some of the lessons I learned from the stories. People are poor because they: make bad (financial) decisions; mismanage their resources; live beyond their means; are unable to create wealth; do not invest and do not have (financial) goals.

So, when some people come into sudden wealth, they are unable to sustain such and they eventually find themselves back in poverty. Since they didn’t create the wealth they had in the first place or maybe they had a lucky break in business, they can’t create wealth again and again. They don’t even know how to create wealth. So, they are always depending on luck.

My decision from now on is to be a committed, conscious and deliberate wealth creator.

P. S. I want to state that I don’t think all lottery winners blow their wealth. I believe there are stories of those who made judicious use of their fortune.