Winning Millions of Dollars: From Millionaires To Broke

Winning the lottery does not always solve all of life’s problems, nor does it always bring happiness. The fact is, many people’s lives became worse after they won the lottery and they managed to lose it all quite quickly. The people who made this list are the living proof that, money, does not buy happiness and winning the lottery does not always have a happy ending. Welcome to Top Picks and today we are looking at 10 lottery winners who went from being millionaires to penniless.



Number 10: Callie Rogers

In 2003, Callie Rogers became Britain’s youngest lottery winner at the age of 16, winning a jackpot of 1.9 million pounds. Callie immediately gave up her job and started splashing the cash. She blew most of her money on parties.  At 26, she had only £2000 left in her bank account.



Number 9: Lou Eisenberg

Lou Eisenberg won $5 million in 1981 at the age of 53, which was the biggest lottery payout at the time. He quit his job as a light bulb changer and embarked on the lush life. He bought an ocean view condo and splurged in lavish vacations. However, most of his jackpot went into a series of failed marriages and divorce settlements. By the year 2001, he was broke.





Number 8: Sharon Tirabassi

Imagine winning a 10 million Canadian dollar jackpot and having almost none of it less than a decade later. It happened to Sharon

Tirbassi. Sharon grew up moving from shelter to shelter and was not used to handling such enormous amounts of money and ended up mismanaging it spectacularly.She is  back in the working class riding the bus, working part time and renting a house.





Number 7: Gerald Muswagon

In 1998, Gerald Musgawon, won a 10 million dollars lottery jackpot. However, it didn’t take long for his bumper winning to turn into a curse. He immediately went into a shopping spree that saw him buying cars and other luxury items for his families and friends. His new lifestyle was soon made up of partying and copious amounts of alcohol and drug abuse. He committed suicide by hanging himself.



Number 6: Michael Carroll

In 2002, Michael Carroll won a jackpot of 9.7 million pounds. Aged only 19 at the time, he blew most of his winnings on drugs, alcohol, gambling and hookers. He also wasted his money on fast cars, helicopters and a home of $500,000. His behavior drove away his wife and daughter.



Number 5: David Lee Edwards

David Lee Edwards felt blessed when he won a 27 million dollar jackpot in 2001. He got on a spending spree buying a $1.6 million mansion and two other houses, a dozens of expensive cars and even a Learjet. However, it didn’t take long for his blessing to turn into a curse.



Number 4: Evelyn Marie Adams

Evelyn Marie Adams won the lottery, not once, but twice, in 1885 and 1986. The odds of winning the lottery 2 times are 1 in 17 trillion. We can all agree she was very lucky. She won a total of 5.4 million dollars. However, due to her compulsive gambling, she lost all of her winning to her bad habit. 20 years later, she was broke and living in a trailer park.



Number 3: Billie Bob Harrell Jr.

Billie Bob Harrell Jr. won a jackpot of 31 million dollar in 1997. Being nearly broke, the win seemed to be heaven-sent. However, the outcome was completely different. It started out joyfully; he quit his job, took his family on vacations bought cars and houses for friends and families and even made donations. But his lavish spending attracted unwanted attention and strangers started calling him for donations and families and friends came to him for loans upon hearing of his new found riches. And it was not a surprise that he didn’t receive any of the loaned money back. Within 2 years, he was completely broke and he committed suicide in 1999.



Number 2: Denise Rossi

Denise Rossi won the lottery in 1996 of a sum of 1.3 million dollar. Not wanting to share her jackpot with her husband, she hid it from him and filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage. It is only after 2 years that the husband became aware of her winnings. He sued Denise for violating the state asset disclosure laws and acting out of fraud. The judge awarded her lottery winnings to her ex-husband. Every single penny.



Number 1: Tonda Lynn Dickerson

In 1999, waitress Tonda Lynn Dickerson received an unusual tip from a regular customer: a lottery ticket which would make her the winner of a jackpot of 10 million dollars. Her miseries started when 4 other waitresses, who had also been tipped with a lottery ticket by the same customer, had agreed that they would share the winnings if any one of them wins. However, they could not sue Tonda as oral contracts related to gambling are illegal where they lived. However, karma hit her when she blew away the money in a corporation and gave shares to her family, forcing her to pay a million dollar gift tax to the government.



Thank you for watching.Please Do not forget to subscribe.