I won £4.2 million on the lottery but won’t give my family any – they won’t talk to me again but I don’t see the issue
A MAN has claimed that he won millions of pounds on the lottery, but is refusing to give his family any cash.
The anonymous lottery winner, 24, explained that every month, he and his wife, also 24, get a lottery ticket.
After many ‘no results’ messages, the man revealed that they finally won – and were stunned to receive a payout of £4.2 million.
He shared that after paying off their mortgage, car payments and debts, the couple were left with £3.7 million.
They decided to invest the money wisely, but he highlighted that his family were not happy when he revealed they would not be getting a cut.
Posting on Reddit, under the username @Grand-Signature-4590, the man opened up on his lottery win and subsequent family drama, leaving many totally stunned.
He wrote: “Every month we buy a lottery ticket for fun. Well, we won big.
“After the lump sum fee and taxes, we won around $5.6 million [around £4.2 million].
“After paying all our debt (student loans, house mortgage, car loans) we had around $5 million [around £3.7 million] left.
“In case you don’t know, 70 percent of lottery winners go broke after a few years.”
As a result, the man, who works in the financial sector and didn’t want to “work a real job again”, decided to be savvy with his winnings.
He continued: “What we did was invest $3 million [around £2.2 million] in a combination of mutual funds, REITs, and preferred stock funds for a very steady hands-off extremely low-risk solid return approach.
“With the $2 million [around £1.5 million], we ended up buying an apartment complex that cashflows and will give a high return with low risk.”
But his family didn’t react how he had hoped, as he added: “When I told my family, I thought the first reaction would be exciting for me and how we were financially responsible with the money.
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you’ll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize – the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot’s EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 – far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two “Lucky Stars” from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars – the top win – stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it’s 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it’s 1 in 31,076. These come with an average prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one “Thunderball”. It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.
“But that started talking about a huge family trip, how I was paying for all their debt, and more.
“I explained that $5 million [around £3.7 million] is a lot but not enough where I will be giving it away to family and they got p****d.
UK's biggest lottery winners
By Ethan Singh
- Anonymous winner – £195,707,000
A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
The holder, who remains anonymous to this day, amassed the fortune with just one lucky ticket.
- Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184,262,899.10
Britain’s previous EuroMillions record holders were Joe and Jess Thwaite.
The couple won a record-breaking £184million jackpot in May 2022 and shared hopes of a Hawaiian holiday and a new horse box for their children’s ponies.
Joe bought his winning ticket online on May 10, 2022, and the following morning received an email with good news.
As he learnt of the huge win, he was in disbelief and initially kept it for himself as he did not want to disturb his wife, who was sleeping.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two children.
- Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000
Colin and Christine Weir landed the colossal prize money in 2011 and were Europe’s second-biggest winners until someone in Italy won a jackpot worth £193m in 2019.
They splashed the cash at an astounding rate of £100,000 a week before tragedy struck.
But at the time of Colin’s death in December 2019 his share of the prize money had dwindled by around £40m.
He spent the millions living a life of luxury, forking out for sports cars, property and the football club he supported.
Colin and Christine divorced shortly before his death after being married for 38 years.
He left money for their children Carly and Jamie.
- Adrian and Gillian Brayford – £148,600,000
Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.
But Adrian split from Gillian the following year because of the stress of the win.
The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021.
After divorcing in 2013, he failed to woo ex-sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz — but fell for stable girl Sam Burbidge.
She left him in 2017, taking 30 prize horses Adrian bought.
It might have worked out in the end for Adrian though as the former postman was seen smiling with ambulance worker Tracey Biles last year.
- Frances and Patrick Connolly – £114,969,775
Former social worker and teacher Frances set up two charitable foundations after she and her husband hit the jackpot.
They scooped almost £115 million on New Year’s Day 2019.
She estimates that she has already given away £60 million to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.
- Richard and Debbie Nuttall – £61,000,000
The couple from Colne, Lancashire, took home £61 million on January 30 2024.
Both 54, they were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
But they then discovered the big EuroMillions win.
Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account.
Other eye-watering anonymous winners:
- 2019 – £123million
Another anonymous winner scooped up a prize of £123,458,008 in the June Superdraw rollover.
- 2021 – £122million
Following nine rollovers, one ticketholder bagged the £122,550,350 jackpot last April.
The successful participant chose to remain anonymous.
- 2018 – £121million
Another anonymous winner found their fortune during the Superdraw jackpot rollover in April 2018, securing £121,328,187.
“They said I wasn’t welcomed in this family and that I shouldn’t ever talk to them again.
“I think I’m in the right because I’m doing what’s best for me and my wife. So do you think I’m the a**hole?”
REDDIT USERS REACT
Reddit users flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the situation – with the majority firmly on the man’s side.
One social media user said: “You’re no longer welcome in the family because you didn’t give them your money? The entitlement is nauseating.”
Your entire family are entitled a**holes who are trying to help themselves to your money
Reddit user
Another added: “Your money is not their money.”
A third commented: “Your money is yours and you don’t have to share it if you don’t want to. They shouldn’t guilt trip you like that. I hope all your plans go well.”
My mum heard I won and called me (first time in seven years) but I felt no guilt for saying no to her
Reddit user
Whilst someone else expressed: “Your entire family are entitled a**holes who are trying to help themselves to your money.
“The entitlement is staggering. Congrats on your win and your intelligence to invest wisely.”
Everything you need to know about Lottery and EuroMillions
- What happens to the EuroMillions prize money if no one claims it?
- Who are the biggest UK EuroMillions winners ever?
- Who is Britain’s youngest Lottery winner Callie Rodgers?
- How many times can the EuroMillions jackpot rollover?
- Which is the easiest Lottery to win?
- What are the odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot?
- What happens when you win the Euromillions lottery?
- What are the biggest lottery jackpots in the world?
- Horoscope luck: Which star sign is most likely to win the lottery?
Despite this, at the same time, one user questioned: “Wait, I need more information. This family that you are talking about… Are these like your parents? Have they been decent parents? Because If I were to win the lottery, you can be sure that I would set aside a small portion to spend on them…”
To this, the lottery winner confirmed: “My dad isn’t with us today and my mum walked out at a very young age.
“The people I was talking about asking for money were my older brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles.
“My mum heard I won and called me (first time in seven years) but I felt no guilt for saying no to her.
“I would have bought my dad something but he was the type of person who never would have asked.”