Weekly Wrap-up: Million Dollar Dreams

Just for a change, I’ve decided to do this weeks (technically last weeks) “Weekly Wrapup” which is about a a West Virginian (USA) resident called Andrew “Jack” Whittaker Jr winning America’s largest single lottery payout on the Powerball. He won US$315million which equates to approximately £196million: the highest win so far in the UK “Lotto” draw has been for just £22.5million (back in June 1995)… The National Lottery website also has some interesting facts on the game and previous winners – along with what will happen if you win the jackpot.

On with the questions…

“On December 25th, one man won $315 million in a lottery. With that in mind, how would you answer these questions?”

1. What would be the first purchase you make with your newly-won fortune? Why?
   My first “purchase” would probably be to pay off my families debts: my mortgage, my parent’s mortgage, car repayments, credit cards, loans etc.

   After that, I’d probably ensure all our pensions are topped up (and ensure that all my family could retire if they wanted to), all house repairs are carried out, get a couple of gardeners in to do some work (my family aren’t really known for their “green fingers”), get my family new cars if they wanted them, and then probably treat everybody to a nice holiday somewhere – probably New Zealand as I know a few of us would like to see that country.

   After that – umm, I dunno. I’d probably sell my current house and get a nice little house (nothing too fancy – 2 bedroom semi-detached place would probably keep me happy), maybe near the beach. I haven’t really given it much thought.

1. What charities would benefit from your lottery winnings? Why?
   I would probably give a few large donations to the following:
   • The MGA (Myasthenia Gravis Association of the United Kingdom)
     Reason: A close family member suffers from MG which is an auto immune disease which is characterized by fluctuating, sometimes fatal, muscle weaknesses. Whilst it is not a “common condition” (it took over a year for it to be diagnosed), there is no known cure and is technically a terminal condition (as it can kill you).
   • The British Diabetic Association (a charity for sufferers of diabetes)
     Reason: See MG
   • The Alzheimer’s Society (a charity for the research on Alzheimer’s Disease)
     Reason: My mother has done a lot of work with sufferers of Alzheimers and hence it is quite close to my heart.
   • LOROS (The Leicestershire and Rutland Organisation for the Relief of Suffering).
     Reason: Well, it’s a local charity, I know of more than one person that received help from them (a childhood friend and an old Art teacher) and… Aren’t those reasons enough?
   • Probably a few children’s charities (such as the NSPCC and Childline) and animal ones (such as the RSPCA, the Huncote Pet Rescue Centre) and any others which take my fancy and that I see as being ‘good causes’
2. How would you handle the instant celebrity nature of your life, once lottery officials announced your name and shared your photograph with the world?
   I’d opt for the “No publicity” option. If that wasn’t possible, I’d just try and cope as well as I could. I’ve appeared a couple of times in the local newspaper, been interviewed for the local BBC Radio station “Radio Leicester“, sung on a number 6 ranking pop single, been featured in news stand and subscription magazines and been interviewed for a television programme – so I might be able to cope 🙂
3. Would you expect long-long relatives or friends to resurface once you obtained the winnings? If so, what would you do? If not, why?
   I can’t think of any relatives that could “crawl out of the woodwork” – friends, hmm. Possibly: it just depends on who they were. I can imagine giving some of the money to a few of them, but others I’ll ask “Why have you decided to resurface at this point?”. They can’t really blame “I couldn’t find you until the publicity” as I’m quite easy to find on the internet and old-fashioned methods of finding people will turn up my details.

   If they’ve got the cheek to actually say “Well, I was hoping you’ll give me/us some money” – then I’d just hope they can come up with a really good authentic true story to try and convince me.

4. Many lottery winners state that their lives will not change despite winning a huge sum of money… do you think yours would? Why or why not?
   I hate people which say that – as if having a couple of million in the bank wouldn’t change your live? The only people whose life it wouldn’t change would be those that had a lot of money in the first place and never had to worry about it.
   So – yes, my life would change. I’d be able to live how I want to live instead of the constrains of having ‘not much funds’ have forced me to. Ok, I’d probably live in a very similar environment, but it’ll be my choice and my decision on how to live. Plus, I’d be able to be a bit more generous than I already am 🙂
   If you want to find out exactly how I’d change – well, donations are always appreciated: especially in the form of winning valid unclaimed lottery tickets 🙂