Lavish Lifestyles of the Lucky Lotto Winners — Read and Draw Conclusions!

Incredible Journeys of Lotto Winners

Have you ever wondered how people spend their millions when they hit that jackpot? One of the first things many people would do is going on a trip around the world, much like Matt Myles has done.

The 27-year old Myles quits his menial job where he worked the night shift in a factory and began his world-class jaunt around the world. His first stop is Indonesia, long before his £1million winnings have been deposited into his account! Of that £1million he has dedicated £100,000 of it strictly to be used for a year-long tour around the world.

Since the beginning of his lavish tour around the world, he has been to Hong Kong, Bali, and Thailand. Oh, he isn’t traveling along though! His brother is along for the expense free ride too! (Wish I had a family member who would treat me to a year-round, expense paid trip all around the world!) The duo went to Brazil to watch the World Cup; and, even though England failed to perform well, the mood was not damped at all!

His plans include visiting Machu Picchu in Peru, going to Australia to dive at the Great Barrier Reef, go bungee jumping in the Grand Canyon, and cruise down the famous Route 66 in a Ford Mustang. Oh, it doesn’t stop there! He also plans to canoe down the Amazon, visit the Great Wall of China and see the pyramids. Of course, while sight-seeing, he plans on taking a vacation from his vacation to really live it up and enjoy the nightlife that Ibiza has to offer. Then he wants to get in touch with his humanitarian side and volunteer with Unicef in Africa for 3 months.

Before he won, Myles was working the night shift and was afraid that he may have to move back home so that he could save some money. Although, since the win, he has been spending his winnings with unabashed gusto. He has invested half of the money and has out a lot of the remaining winnings into creating a property business with his friends. Oh, and he hopes to begin training as an airline pilot. It is safe to say that Myles has a passion for life!

Other Big Lotto Winners

While Myles may have gone on a lavish trip around the world, not every lotto winner has the same idea on how to spend those winnings. In case of the Weir couple who won £161million back in July of 2011, they spent millions on luxury vehicles for their friends, a hillside property that cost £850,000 for themselves and gave their old £220,000 home to the young mother that lived next door.

The Dawes won £101 million in October of 2011. During this time, they were able to plan for an over the top wedding, but they chose to have a low key ceremony instead. There were only five guests in attendance. To celebrate, they toasted with a £250 bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne and stayed in a hotel where the expensive bridal suite cost only £230 per night.

Rags to Riches to Coffin

Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending. That is the case for David Lee Edwards, an unemployed ex-convict who amazingly won $27 million in the PowerBall. Edwards died in December of 2013 while living in a hospice care facility at the age of 58.

Edwards was a drug addict who spent almost a third of his life in prison for theft. When he was released from prison, he was unemployed and living in his late parent’s home. He had to borrow money to keep the water on. Everything changed one day when he purchased $7 worth of Powerball tickets.
When he accepted his check, he seemed level-headed and stated: “I didn’t want to accept this money by saying I’m going to get mansions and I’m going to get cars, I’m going to do this and that,” he said while accepting his check. “I would like to accept it with humility. I want this money to last, for me, for my future wife, for my daughter and future generations.”

Of course, that didn’t happen. Soon, he spent his millions on the typical cars, vacations, mansions, and so forth. But life took a tough turn. He had blown through $3 million of his money, 3 months, almost half of it in a year!

He surrounded himself with people who did drugs and he would eagerly supply them. At the time, he was married to a woman named Shawna who proved to be his downfall. She was in and out of drug rehab and the couple divorced and remarried and then divorced again.

During all of this chaos, Edwards had an 11-year-old daughter to care for. Shawna has been known to wish that Edwards had set aside some money for the daughter. Edwards financial advisor has gone on record to say that he put about $16 million away in bonds and annuities, but Edwards had liquidated them before finally going completely broke.

Moral of the Story

The moral to the story is that the lottery can be both a blessing and a curse. For some, it can pave the way for incredible times and with smart investing and a good financial plan, the money can last for generations. Unfortunately, for others, it can be a disaster—especially if you are surrounded by negative influences.