Everything I've seen after advising lottery winners on their finances for 10 years: Divorce, family feuds, drugs, terrible decisions and 'normal' people

A financial advisor has lifted the lid on lottery winners after spending 10 years overseeing their finances following their sudden windfalls.

The British man said he was one of the financial advisors who met with lottery winners after they hit the jackpot. 

'They'd arrange for a big winner to sit down with a lawyer and a financial advisor roughly a fortnight after winning. I met a lot of winners over those years and still know some of them today,' he said. 

'There were certainly some spectacular stories - divorces, family fallouts, fast cars, drugs, people making terrible decisions - but they weren't the norm.

'Most winners were surprisingly ordinary. They paid off the mortgage, helped their family, went on nicer holidays and tried to work out what on earth they were supposed to do with the rest of their lives.

'The part I found most interesting wasn't really the investing. It was what suddenly having enough money did to people's relationships, work, identity and happiness.'

The advisor said most lottery wins could sustain a person financially, provided they 'don't adjust their lifestyle upwards too much or too fast'.

'That is where I see most winners go wrong. If you win a million, it doesn't make you a millionaire for long if you choose to live like a millionaire,' he said.

 A financial advisor has lifted the lid on lottery winners after spending 10 years overseeing their finances following their sudden windfalls (file image)

One of the common things he saw was marriages breaking down. 

'I have met with one winner who wanted my help in hiding his win from his wife. I refused to act for him. I don't know whether she ever found out but you can't hide that sort of money forever,' he said. 

'In my experience some couples are only still married because they can't 'afford' to divorce. A lottery win takes this burden away immediately.'

He said there was a case where the winner quietly divorced her husband without telling him she'd won the lottery. 

'Unfortunately he open a letter that came to the house and found out all about it. The courts awarded him half the win,' he said. 

The advisor said his favourite winners are those who invested in themselves to achieve the ultimate 'glow up'.

'They spent a good chunk of their win on hiring personal trainers and gym memberships. They also invested in their clothes and looks,' he said.

Despite the incredible transformations, one couple ended up splitting.

'A year after I met them, they both looked amazing but were heading for the divorce courts because they had both suddenly had interest from other people. The divorce meant they ended up with as little as they had pre-win,' he said. 

Another couple who won $1million decided to quit their jobs so they could spend time with their terminally ill son.

'A young couple gave up work to care for their terminally ill son and used the win to replace the income. They were back to work within 18 months with no money left but also no son,' the advisor said. 

'They traded their win for the most important luxury, time with a loved one. They don't regret a minute of it and have a lifetime worth of memories.'

While one couple who won $1.5million ran out of money after splurging on lavish holidays.

'I met a lovely young couple who wanted to buy a nice family home to start a family and go on a nice holiday each year. I advise them to do one or the other, but they did both and had run out of the winnings by the time the family came along,' he said. 

'The problem with that is when you have become used to nice holidays, it is really hard to give them up.'

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He said about two-thirds of big lottery winners keep their jobs and continue working the same hours.

'This is often because the win isn't enough to quit straight away - unless you are close to retirement already,' he said. 

'It is also very often the fact that telling your boss where to stick their job is a quick way to flag to colleagues and the local community that you have come into money.

'I have had a few winners over the years, resign immediately and in every case they hated their job and/or boss and came up with creative ways to resign. 

'I have been told that there is no better feeling than putting the uniform on, walking into work, resigning immediately and walking straight back out again whilst your boss's jaw is on the floor.'

The advisor said he never felt 'envious' of winners. 

'Meeting winners gives you an appreciation for the real luxuries of spending time with family and friends, rather than having money as this is what the successful winners use their money for,' he said. 

'Does that mean I have a Zen life? No, at any one time one of my teenagers won't be speaking to me. It has given me the gift of perspective though.'

He said they have strict rules around accepting gifts from the lottery winners they work with.

'I've had the odd bottle of wine that is otherwise outside of my price range,' he said.

If the tables were turned and he'd won the jackpot, the first thing he would do is meet with a lawyer and a financial advisor - something he notices many winners don't do.

'I own my own business and so I probably wouldn't quit work,' he said. 

'Neither of my adult children have houses so I would help them onto the property ladder. I wouldn't buy them outright as I have seen many clients over the years ruin their kids by giving too much. It removes their "vigour" their sense of needing to work or strive for something.

'I would upgrade our family holidays a bit. I wouldn't buy property. I would invest the rest.'

The advisor said most lottery wins could sustain a person financially, provided they 'don't adjust their lifestyle upwards too much or too fast' (file image) 

What surprised him most were the winners who kept their winnings hidden away without spending a cent on themselves.

'They just tucked it away so that no one would know they won,' he said.

'I always thought that was a complete waste.'

He revealed how couples went to extreme lengths to keep their fortune a secret.

'They bought the same make and models of existing car and then drove them around to get them muddy again,' he said. 

'Another couple's only pleasure was following the England rugby team on tour with their friends and they carried on flying economy even though they had bad backs - they just didn't want their friends to know.'

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes he saw winners make was telling their family and friends about their sudden wealth.  

'Unfortunately in my experience the friends and family of winners have an expectation that the winner can and will help them out,' he said. 

'The unhappiest man I have ever met was a lottery winner. The win became known locally and people couldn't understand why he couldn't help them all out.

'They saw him as a lottery millionaire and not the friend, family or neighbour they once had. It ruined his life and he wished he had never won.'