EDUCATION
What Happens When You Win The Lottery?
You may wish you didn’t
I read an essay in which the author described Executive Chairman of Amazon Jeff Bezos as a sought-after male role model.
I also choked on my coffee.
Bezos is “winning at life and capitalism.”
My stomach growled like I had diarrhea.
Is he?
What I see is a man having a midlife crisis. A meltdown. We’re talking about a nuclear reactor kind of meltdown.
“He is a billionaire” penned the author, and therefore men and women “are building online shrines to him.”
I have nothing against the opinion of the author. My issue lies with Bezos’ social positioning in the modern world. What a benchmark we’ve set for ourselves.
The fact that Bezos and former news anchor girlfriend Lauren Sánchez are flaunting themselves a bit too hard — outlandish Vogue spreads, looking heavily Botoxed at fashion shows, or parading themselves in questionable outfits — that is not what bona fide wealthy folks do. I won’t even begin about the Federal Trade Commission’s monopoly lawsuit against Amazon for antitrust violations. That’s a Godzilla for another day.
The uber-wealthy adopt stealth mode. They move in silence. They don’t own a yacht, brag about it, or demand historical bridges be dismantled to pass through. They get it done quietly. The last thing they want is to get the press involved.
The ultra-wealthy don’t flash labels and logos, make an entrance wherever they go, or make a spectacle of themselves. They dress down, speak discreetly in public, and try to be inconspicuous. They don’t need to show they have money, they are money.
The uber-rich do not need clout or additional attention. The point is to avoid all that. They aren’t on social media, liking pics, seeing what’s written about them, and responding. They’re busy making decisions that will affect the stock exchange, buying properties, and striking deals with other billionaires and global leaders.
Too often on social media, Generation Z has one aspiration: I want to be rich so I can afford stuff and live like so and so.
As a former teacher, I was fed up listening to my teenage students whine about their unglamorous lives with fear-of-missing-out (FOMO).
As an exercise, I asked my students one simple question they always failed to answer: if you won a billion dollars today, what’s the first thing you’d do?
“Hmm, that’s a good question. I dunno, Miss.”
Considering the constant daydreaming and incessant talks on social media about becoming rich like Bezos, I’d expect eagerness, preparation, and a laundry list of actions ready to be taken. That’s hardly the case.
“I’d pack up and travel, Miss.”
“Alright. Where to? First destination?”
“Hmm, I dunno, Miss.”
At that point, I was tempted to jump out the window. Below was a lake I could drown in. Instead, I thought I might as well drown them with a lecture.
“How on earth can the Universe grant you your wish if you don’t know exactly what you want? Even if you ask for a bank loan, the bank will ask you, what for?”
My students laughed and thought I was clowning. Exasperated was more precise.
Exasperation returned when I watched a TikTok video of youths being randomly interviewed on the streets. They were given a scenario, “If a millionaire said he would spend his money on you for a day, where would you go?”
Their answers: Go to Sephora, Zara, Target, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Balenciaga, and Rolex.
My jaw dropped to the floor.
Only one girl said she’d buy a property to later rent, and one boy said he’d invest at the stock exchange. Now that’s something to be proud of. People with a long-term vision, with a sustainable idea. There is still hope, I told myself, as I closed my gaping mouth.
When I lived in the US, I followed stories about Powerball winners. I was astounded that a Powerball jackpot could be over $2 billion. It was unthinkable back in Southeast Asia to win such a handsome windfall. Sure, we have the lottery, but not in such an obscene amount.
What intrigued me was the winners’ failure to improve themselves. Not just in America, but everywhere around the world. Each winner was a tragic comedy, a Woody Allen film.
For many of the winners, life practically fell apart the moment they got their hands on the money. And that ought to say something.
Lara and Roger Griffiths, of England, had been happily married for 14 years. In 2005, they won a $2.76 million lottery jackpot. They bought a million-dollar barn-converted house and a Porsche, and made luxurious trips to Dubai, Monaco, and New York City. Life went well until 2010 when a freak fire gutted their underinsured house. They were forced to shell out for repairs and seven months of temporary accommodations. The stress took a toll on the couple. Roger fell for another woman and drove off in the Porsche. Lara and Roger filed for divorce soon after.
In 1988, William Post in Pennsylvania won $16.2 million. Almost overnight, his life became a Netflix movie he didn’t intend to make. A former girlfriend sued him for a third of his winnings (and won). His brother allegedly hired a hitman to kill him in the hopes he’d inherit a share of the winnings. Thankfully that failed. Post tried to set up a business, but failed and soon fell into debt. When a bill collector came for payment, Post fired a gun at him and was sent to jail. After serving time, Post lived on $450 a month and food stamps until he died in 2006.
In 1986, Evelyn Adams won the lottery, not once, but twice. She made $5.4 million out of thin air. How did she invest all that money? She didn’t. She went to Atlantic City and burned it all by gambling.
Gerald Muswagon won the $10 million Super 7 jackpot in Canada. Like Adams, he lost his mind in the process and partied it all on drugs, alcohol, and useless purchases. At the height of his stupidity, he reportedly bought eight big-screen televisions for friends. Imagine if they were stocks invested. All of them would have been better off to this day. But no, they were idiot boxes.
The list goes on, but the songs sing the same lyrics. One self-made calamity after another. I was smacking my knees and shaking my head at how outrageously poor big decisions were made.
We’re talking catastrophic levels because so much that’s been given got squandered so recklessly, in the blink of an eye — to the winners, at least.
Many of them reported they regretted winning. Post of Pennsylvania, whose brother issued a hit on him, told the Washington Post, “I was much happier when I was broke.” Countless other winners would agree with him.
People talk about waiting for such a windfall all their lives, yet when it’s given like a handout, we lose our minds. What makes Bezos (especially after his divorce to former wife MacKenzie Scott after 25 years of marriage) and Sánchez any different?
Perhaps the only difference is the accumulation and distribution of wealth.
Typically, jackpot winners have two choices: an annual installment payment each year for decades, or to take a one-time payment (the sum would end up far less than the millions at stake).
According to experts, the first mistake winners make is taking that one-time payout. But we get it. When you’ve won the money, it’s only natural for folks to want the money now. What’s the point of winning the award if you can’t bring home the trophy? The problem is the temptation to spend it almost as much and as fast. Impulsive purchases.
Any smarter decision comes with patience. Taking the annuity ensures another installment payment will come next year, and the year after.
Being patient has many other benefits. The annuity payment allows a delayed tax burden, and allows winners to adjust gradually to their wealth. This helps to control the overwhelming feeling.
It’s understandable. You spend all your life wishing for a break, and then you get a dream of a lifetime. It’s not easy to comprehend such fortunate circumstances. It’s a whole lot easier to lament about a string of bad luck.
The truth is, you don’t have to watch other people and envy them.
With the help of reframing exercises, I directed my students to imagine themselves winning and being millionaires. Even for one day. That way, they could wrap their heads around the plausibility. This would allow them to actively design their lifestyle, understand the possible mistakes they’d make, and identify the people they needed to be careful about allowing and keeping in their lives.
At the end of the exercise, I told my students, “I don’t want you to be like Bezos.”
Puzzled, they asked why not?
“Because you can be better than Bezos.”
I told them, as future leaders of the world, considering what Bezos has achieved, and how he is living his life, my students could surpass him and bring more positive value to the world.
That’s the whole point of winning in life.