How Paul Maddison fell out with joint lottery winner pal Mark Gardiner who he split £22m with in years before death
A PAIR of mates and business partners who won £22m in a 1995 lottery jackpot win ended up falling out.
Glazing company owners Mark Gardiner and Paul Maddison struck gold in the famous win and lived very different lives with their share.
The win was the largest National Lottery win ever at £22,590,829, with the pair taking home £11m each.
Maddison, 73, is understood to have died on November 28, just months after his wife Evelyn died aged 62 this year.
He lived the life of a hermit out of the spotlight living in remote places, while co-winner Gardiner continued to work on the glazing business.
Gardiner couldn’t say that he spoke to Maddison in a 2023 interview and the pair had not seen each other since Maddison failed to turn up to Gardiner’s fourth wedding in 2008.
Maddison, from Hastings in East Sussex, had moved to Perth in 1996 to enjoy a quieter life.
But, his first wife left him for another man soon after.
After finding a new wife, a cleaner he had hired, Maddison returned to Scotland, buying the 16th-century Robgill Tower near Dumfries for £650,000.
Locals in the nearby village of Kirtlebridge previously said they had rarely seen the pair come out of the 40-acre estate.
Paul had also installed security cameras, remote-controlled gates and an intercom immediately after moving in.
Gardiner said Maddison had converted to Jehovah’s Witness.
“Everyone says he’s bought a castle, he hasn’t bought a castle, he’s got a house with a turret on the end. Everyone said he bought a fish farm – he hasn’t, he’s got a river you can fish in.
“He’s probably skint,” said Gardiner.
Maddison then flicked the home for £2.8million in 2008 and moved back to the Perth area, where he is understood to have lived out his days.
Gardiner has been much more public about his winnings.
The glazier hasn’t frittered his winnings away and owns two houses in Barbados and has an Aston Martin, a Harley-Davidson and two Mercedes in his garage.
He’s also bought two football clubs, a £750,000 cruiser and a second boat and put millions of pounds into businesses.
When he and pal Paul Maddison won the huge fortune, Mark thought his problems would disappear overnight but despite his wealth he regrets winning in many ways.
Mark said in 2005: “There are days when I curse my win and wish I’d never got involved.
“But I guess if I woke up one day and saw my rusty old van and bank loan and realised I’d dreamt all this up that would be pretty frightening, too.”
