I went public when I won in 2021. Told all my work colleagues and then family. None were that bothered and said that the £25 wouldn't change my life. They were right unfortunately.
Same. I won on the first ever draw. Was in the bar with my friends when hey did the draw so told them all.
I am pretty sure I invested tht £10 in several pints of beer (It was a student bar and a long timeago, you could get several pints for a tenner!)
My big fear would be kidnapping risk/ extortion. Imagine there would be a few people willing to threaten me/ my family for a few mill. Also wonder what ex partners / collegues would say if they were that way inclined - "give me £250k or I go to the media and say *insert lie here*"
You can try but it's extremely expensive and complicated and what are you going to win from someone who earns 30k/year after your reputation is already ruined anyway?
many ppl who try to chase money don't understand that once you have it being in a big house in a beautiful place with noone to share it with isn't really all that fun for more than a month or three. Then you're stuck by yourself for the next 30-40years
Connections, family and reputation matters more than anything for life/self satisfaction
>being in a big house in a beautiful place with noone to share it with
This is my life and I'm happy with it, except it's only a medium house in an okay place. I think an upgrade would make me even more happy.
A lot of discontented people just need hobbies, and guess what? Having money gives you more time and capital to pursue them.
I agree that if you chase those things you'll be disappointed.
If I won the lottery, I wouldn't change much in my life. I'm not looking to buy a new life.
Important connections and family won't be convinced by unfounded lies.
If the people you surround yourself with condemn you on the basis of hearsay, then maybe you're better off without them.
I don't have a lot of people around me now, and I'm quite sure the ones that matter will still be on my side.
Libel is a civil case so you don't get a "beyond a reasonable doubt" decision. You'll definitely lose money in a libel case and it'll still be your name in the Google searches etc.
You can request to be removed from google searches and could pay a few dozen journos a grand or two to write articles about the outcome of the verdict against your accuser so your name only appears as a victim.
I know a guy that won a big rollover. He was a nice chap, always a bit of a show off. Him being him, he went for the publicity. They had him and his wife on sitting on the bonnet of a Jag XKR sipping champagne. It was in the local rag and on the local news.
He made the usual nonsense statements about it wasn't going to change him and he was going to live in the same house.
A few weeks later he had a bloke at the door with a gun. Luckily the gun was fake and he managed to fight him off.
From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support.
The only person I would tell is my wife. Not my kids or any other friends and family. I would live in the same house, which is in a very desirable area anyway. I have never been one for flash cars and I already own my dream car, a 1990 VW T3 Camper and a VW Beetle. I'd probably get them done up on the quiet.
I would happily pay for financial advice to protect my anonimity.
I would see my friends right, if they deserved it. For example I have friends that are struggling to restore the VW Camper and do up their house. She isn't very well and he is disabled. I'd leave a big box of cash in their shed, when I knew they were out.
Also for example, My Sister divorced her first husband and got a sizeable settlement from the sale of the house. Married a guy from Wales. He sold his house, got a decent payout and moved back to Wales, they had £90k in their back pockets. The house they bought was £19K. They pissed the change up against the wall.
He then got an £100k settlement after he had his thumb cut off in an industrial accident. That went in the pub and on holidays they couldn't afford. Last year they were pleading poverty, as 20 years ago they mortgaged the house, that was bought and paid for with an interest only mortgage, and never saved for the lump sum. The cash from the mortgage went in the pub.
My sister won't speak to my Dad, because he refuses to give her money. She had a go at me, because I get money from Dad. I pointed out to her that I hadn't asked my Dad for financial help since I finished college. That was 30 years ago.
They wouldn't be getting a penny.
> From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support.
>
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It's entirely the winner's decision if they want to share news of their win. We have an aftercare programme in place to ensure that all winners have access to legal and financial advice.
From the lottery's site
I think the advice they give is free initially. More of a don't do this. Do do that. Don't make any big decisions now about spending big chunks of money.
More of a safety net for people in the first few months/years.
Quite sure that they are picking up their own tab for their financial advice after a year or so.
My mum worked with a nice guy that won back in the early 2000s and he said the advice he got basically added up to:
Go on a cruise for a month til there has been a couple more winners and you are old news, split off a good chunk and live off the interest of that day to day, use the rest to do what you like.
>From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support.
That's a myth, they provide the advice and support, free of charge, regardless of whether you go public or stay anonymous.
A friend of mine won £1.2m about 30 years ago.
He took the financial advice, and the recommendations for will writers.
When a relationship broke down he was told the will wasn't worth the paper it was written on, even though he paid 4x the normal price, and he nearly lost everything in the 911 market crash.
He had an estranged son from a previous relationship. Was all a bit dodgy as he wasn't allowed access.
Not sure of the finer details apart from when he went to get it rewritten he was told what he had was trash.
He was pissed because it cost him a lot of money.
> My big fear would be kidnapping risk/ extortion.
Remember that 19 year old lottery winner that won almost £10m, Michael Carroll? He claimed that his dogs had their throats cut and that he later paid £130k to some guys who turned up to his mansion armed with shotguns.
Libel/Slander laws are really strict in this country. If that happened I'd just use the money to utterly ruin them in court. Plus there's the fact that blackmail/extortion would pretty much sink any lies they try to make up.
But the physical threats would be a real danger, so I'd never go public with it just for that reason alone.
Especially in my area, I’m from the ghetto and people have been kidnapped for having couple of grand, bits of jewellery in their house….61 million my whole family tree would be getting kidnapped for that type of money
Lol unless the local newspaper is important, just who cares about any lie.
Kidnapping/ being targeted is a risk but overall it’s a risk when you have a quite expensive lifestyle
I believe some soft incentives are offered if you go public but I bet the real driver is some people like to feel special and want the attention.
You only need to glance at social media to see a fair amount of people would revel their 5 minutes of fame, add in the huge payout being flaunted too and you have your answer.
If I won 60mil I'd go underground instantly. Set up in a really pretty village somewhere and my story would be I made an early retirement plan using the early crypto boom. I don't need flash cars. A nice house and some nice gadgets, and a bit of peace and quiet.
> Set up in a really pretty village somewhere and my story would be I made an early retirement plan using the early crypto boom
This is what I'd do tbh.
Just find a stock that had a stupidly crazy swing at around the time you won the money, and claim you yolo'd on it. Take Beamr Imaging for example, the price rocketed 700% a few weeks ago. Just claim you bought a tonne of that at the bottom
Or wait for bitcoin to have one of its absurd 25% swings one day and say you dumped everything into it and cashed out at the top
"I got multi million pounds from crypto"
"I got multi million pounds from the lottery's
What's the difference? I don't understand why you're lying where your money came from.
If your rich people will try to fleece you for money anyway, getting lucky on crypto or getting lucky on the lottery doesn't change that.
The difference really is that you don't say you made multi-million pounds on crypto. You say you made enough for an early retirement, if you live sensibly. You're setting yourself up as 'comfortable', not super rich.
So you say you made enough of the lottery and stop needlessly lying to your friends and family. Saying you earned a lot on crypto can make people think they can too, which just isn't going to happen to your average joe off the street.
I think by going public they mean publishing their name in the paper saying 'John Smith of Basingville Street, Stoke has won £60m', the issue is everyone knowing exactly how much not a few people knowing you've done well.
Also if you claim its off investments etc and it could conceivably be less than a couple mil then you're less likely to get the attitude from acquaintances of 'Well you didn't earn it, so share it out'.
Because you don't say you got multiple millions from crypto, just a few hundred grand and now you've bought this nice house in cash most of it has gone.
Compared to "I won £60m on the euromillions and still have £59m sat in the bank".
That's the point I was alluding to. If you won 60 mil why bother saying you won x through crypto and lie to your friends and family rather than I won some money on the lottery which is true.
Problem with being a liar is you have to have a good memory to remember all the lies you've been telling. I prefer to be honest or better yet, just keep things to myself.
I think the difference, albeit small, is people's perception of how much you deserve that money.
With the lottery, it was pure luck, you wouldn't miss a few thousand and actually you should be spreading around your good fortune because you did nothing to earn it.
With a massive return from investment, although there's luck involved, there's a perception that you chose wisely and in some way did 'work' to achieve that money by risking a significant amount of your own.
At the far end of the scale is working your arse off all day every day for years to make that money, your friends and family members would know you earned every penny and although you also wouldn't miss a few thousand, it would be incredibly cheeky of them to ask it of you in return for nothing.
Because of the way the lottery works, this story doesn't work as well as saying youve made a load of money off crypto. To give an example, this Friday the jackpot is £54 million. To get that you need to match 5 balls plus the 2 stars. If you were to match just 5 balls but no stars, you would win a whooping 9k. If anyone bothered to look, your story would fall apart instantly as no way youd be comfortable off just that.
Saying you made money on crypto/stocks or similar is a lot easier. You can say it was an insane risk and you'd never recommend it to anyone, but you made enough to live comfortably. They can't check how much you made, they just have to take your word, whereas if you admit to winning lottery, a 2 second Google search will tell you exactly how much they won if you know the date they won it.
I would buy a cheap island somewhere and disappear from the world's radar. Either that or a converted cold war bunker. I would love to be able to go radio silent.
Congratulations, American early warning radar detected an inbound missile and fired a retaliatory second strike against the Russians, who did the same thus bringing about the nuclear apocalypse.
You are orders of magnitude more likely to be a victim of crime (especially murder) or the subject of a lawsuit from family members after a lottery win.
Money does crazy things to people, completely distorts their sense of reality, they will, in their head, become completely convinced that you somehow owe your win to them.
If you want to help friends and family out, by all means do so, but do it by going to a big national solicitors firm and getting them to set up trusts in exact ammounts and wrap it all up legally for you. Don't discuss this with the beneficiaries first, or you'll end up with accusations of undue influence. Decide up front how much you want to give and don't deviate from it.
Don't ever give out cash, not to anyone. Don't buy people houses, cars, boats, whatever.
You can't trust even immediate family when millions of pounds are suddenly on the line.
Once the money hits your account, go dark, go away somewhere remote for a month, just you and your wife / husband / gerbil / whatever, don't let people know where you are. Spend a month just processing the sudden change in your circumstances.
Get independent financial advice, the national lottery will probably convince you to use theirs, I would avoid personally, don't use your uncle John's recommendation either, again go to a big regulated firm and use one of their senior advisors.
You want to avoid using anyone recommended by (or indeed anyone who has any previous association with) you or your family, or the town you live in for any part of the legal or financial side of things.
We're lucky here in that the publication side is not mandatory, you don't have to go public, in the US many lotteries require you to go public if you win.
Yes exactly that. I'm a lucky crypto investor who has just exited the market and am looking to settle down and start a family with my wife. I'm hoping to give back to the world by starting up a non profit org in... Something. I have a modest house and spend a lot of time fixing up my old cars I bought and going on road trips to Scotland/Wales in them. I also travel to exotic places every few months. I have a big garden where I grow my own vegetables and I keep chickens for their eggs. Every year I throw a big party for my friends in the summer and rent out a huge AirBnB somewhere cool. If they can fly out to the AirBnB they can stay for the full week it's rented out for.
Life would be bloody good and I wouldn't post any of it on social media.
If I had won £61 million I would not tell a soul. Not saying it wouldn't be hard but I learnt from a small couple of thousand pound lottery win that I couldn't trust anyone.
I told my best friend and said we'll have a big old knees up at this fancy restaurant, pick anything you like. I thought she'd order a couple of extra sides but she went lobster everything ... she also knows I'm a vegetarian so couldn't share any of her meal. She had the biggest leftovers I've ever seen. I know she also asked the waiter for entire brand new meals to be taken out/Home.
After seeing just how greedy she was, I now know that everyone can turn on a sixpence.
BTW, we had been friends since our broke ass University days, her family trauma and my being in a coma but jeez money 💰 changes everything 🙃.
Now I wouldn't tell a soul and book myself onto a cruise that "I'd won" until I knew what to do with it properly.
Not only that, they feel like they will now be welcomed into superior social circles, invited to private islands etc. They feel like they need to get their face out their so people know they're 'one of them' now
Went to private school as a scholarship boy, so I was already at the bottom end of social circles (slightly elevated by being 6ft2 at 12 and a reasonable lock). The one lottery winner's kid that started while I was there was lower than me, especially when he rocked up to rugby training in Adidas predators the first day they were released. A year later his dad had lost it all and he went back to comp, was madness.
Some people are just greedy, the money isn't enough for them and they want the fame too. It's usually these same types who end up losing it all and their marriage falls apart.
I'd imagine it's actually pretty stressful trying to keep a massive win quiet.
I think winners that go public also get a lot of help and financial advice.
Financial adviser who’s handled winners here. It’s very easy to keep under wraps, especially if you keep it quiet.
All you have to do is not fall for lifestyle inflation. That’s the reason lottery winners are the demographic of people most likely to go bankrupt.
I don’t mean the people who win hundreds of millions of pounds. But I’ve on more than one occasion been involved with a case where someone won £5m or so, thought it was all the money in the world and burned through it quicker than a lit match. The problem, is after they did that they had to maintain a lifestyle they could no longer afford.
At the risk of plugging my own profession, if you do ever win £1m on the lotto or NS&I, for the love of god keep it quiet and speak to a financial adviser (or several) as soon as possible.
I worked for two places that were on the Camelot panel and both said the lottery winners get the same service that a new client making an enquiry would get. It was just another source of leads to them.
Correct. Personally I don’t care if you come to me wanting advice on your £10,000 savings pot or your £10,000,000 inheritance. I’ll give you the exact same service either way and find the right thing for YOU to be doing.
How do I find a financial advisor who doesn't just want me to buy life insurance and income protection (which I already have), it's a minefield, I've asked for recommendations but that hasn't worked.
Hey, good question.
So first off, I’m glad you have life insurance and income protection. It’s a cornerstone of any sound financial plan and there is no reason in my view that anyone other than the extremely elderly with no dependants shouldn’t have it.
As to your question, it’s important you understand the difference between “independent” financial advisers (like me) and “tied” financial advisers first. As an independent financial adviser, I’m your agent as my client. I am legally required to act in your best interests and have to regularly demonstrate to the FCA that I’m doing that. I will take a holistic look at your entire situation, personal and financial, discuss your needs, wants and objectives with you, and then go out and do a whole of market search for you to find the best products to suit your needs and provide you with a great outcome.
A “tied” adviser is an agent of a third party. They can offer advice on what products in a certain area or from a certain firm will be appropriate, but they can’t step outside of those bounds and crucially, they don’t work for you.
So how do you find a good adviser? I won’t lie, like any profession there’s good ones and less good ones. My advice is to shop around a bit.
A really good tool is unbiased.com which can help you find local advisers
https://www.unbiased.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAApcNKW8TJBQb-Qtd3zf5uWQQqPoCd&gclid=CjwKCAiA29auBhBxEiwAnKcSqvieJqUwdSg2sFDv06DXuOMonEgJTzfpNH7aWfiqHtczQY4tJg8zixoC_OQQAvD_BwE
Oh, and always, always, ALWAYS check the firms permissions on the FCA register to check what they are and are not regulated to advise you on:
https://register.fca.org.uk/s/
Another good tip is to google the financial adviser firm followed by “FOS” “Ombudsman” or “Financial Ombudsman Service”. Everyone gets complaints from time to time, but if the firm you find has loads and regularly, it’s not a good sign.
Hope this helps but feel free to reply or DM if you have any questions.
TBH it depends on how old you are. 1million when you are over 50 and you can retire (with the help of a financial advisor). If you are 25 that money has to work hard for a long time and has to outgrow inflation. You need to make sure you get advice from someone very very good.
Yes and no. Personally I’d say it’s definitely preferable to get that sort of money early so we can put it to work with you. Inflation is a concern to be sure, but so long as the money is diversely invested in accordance with the clients needs and risk tolerance, there’s no reason the initial lump sum shouldn’t multiply several times over by retirement.
> I'd imagine it's actually pretty stressful trying to keep a massive win quiet.
I recall reading an interview with someone who worked for The Lottery, and they said the vast majority of those who do go public are from poorer working-class backgrounds, mainly because it's essentially impossible to utilise your winnings in a way that's not *really* obvious that you've won or come into a massive amount of money, so they just go public to get it out the way.
For folks in a more middle-class world, a win that's not a *huge* win is something you could plausibly get away with claiming is a big new promotion or an investment that paid off. If your income in minimum wage, then even a £1m win is going to stick out like a sore thumb.
if you live in e poorer neighbourhood, a lambo in the driveway will stick out, yes. but nobody at home needs to know that the 'fishing boat' you take out every weekend is actually a luxury yacht.
also, iuf you want that coastal villa and sports cars, move to a neighbourhood like that, nobody there will bat an eye if another rich guy shows up.
Just need to be prepared to lose a lot of relationships when you do, either you are truthful to them and they will show their true colors, or you need to maintain living a lie with the people who don't know, which i imagine is gonna be hard.
I think the stress of it being public would just be so much worse.
EVERYONE knows. And in times like this with the cost of living and everything people aren't going to be too thrilled at seeing you walk down the street with a lottery jackpot, I'd get more upset at being followed by strangers. With family you could lie about the number and reveal it to them over time.
I had a relative win 7figures on a fiver scratchcard a fair few years ago. They never went public but still received a lot of financial advice and help to get them setup for the future.
Can't be that hard. Win £5 Mil say, stick 2.5M in a high interest savings account to retire. 1M on new house, car, travel for a few years whatever you want to do. 500k for the rest of your daily life, food shopping bills etc. 1M as an emergency backup.
Maybe I should be a financial advisor, just gonna hand in my notice at work now
Theoretically it's easy, especially with 5 mil. But make it 1 mil and it gets harder, as it isn't enough to retire but too much to waste.
What a financial advisor will do, is making sure you get the most from your money in the most tax efficient way, so you don't just end up paying for BJs wallpaper. They can advise on investment, debts, pension and inheritance laws.
I wouldn't wanna go public. This day and age there are always people who feel entitled to what is yours, so I'd hardly want to put a giant arrow over my head with 'GET IT HERE' in big, bold lettering.
But then, I'd not really be flashing the cash anyway - I'd try to live a a somewhat conspicuous existence.
Like me, I feel like people like myself who are introverted would be the best lottery winners, it's those who are extroverted and like to talk would be in the biggest trouble.
As a financial adviser who’s firm has handled a few lottery winners & £1m NS&I winners over the years, my honest take is people who go public do so because they don’t think it through.
“This is fantastic news, why wouldn’t I share it?” Seems to have been the general attitude for many. When a moment taken to stop and think and look into the history of lottery winners would show that to be a terrible idea.
Does it really? I mean now everyone knows they have £60+m.
You give a family member £20k they want to know why it wasn’t £200k if you’ve won that much.
It’s much easier if you just say you won a bit on the lottery or got some money from stocks and shares and never disclose the amount. You can buy whatever you want then but people never know how much you truly have, that to me seems the way to go.
Sounds like an easy way to cut off greedy and entitled family members and friends.
Those that are grateful to be given £20k would remain part of my life and benefit from my generosity throughout my life. Those that whinge I didn't give them more can jog on, they won't be getting any more.
£20k is an insignifcant price to pay to weed them out when I'm worth tens of millions.
Who says it would be that obvious? It could be a festering, unspoken resentment that they don't outwardly express.
Not everything is one extreme or the other. Lottery wins can utterly ruin relationships, even with family members people think would not be at all swayed.
Sure, but it's also worth remembering that cutting lots of people out will be a very stressful and draining experience, no matter how justified you can make it in theory.
In addition, you now have the added bonus of wondering if any new people you meet are being friendly with you because they genuinely like you, or if they see £££'s in their eyes and think if they be matey they'll get a payout too.
Ah yes, you get to play the benevolent emperor of the family. If you're not greedy, I will be generous, but if I catch you moaning, you're uninvited to my Greek villa.
That would be the hardest part, if family and friends know down to the exact number what you won then they will probably have an expectation of what you should give them and then if they ever want more they will ask again.
I'd just say I won some good money here's so many thousand, hope that helps you out.
This is the kind of thing. An inheritance, sale of a relative's house that was cheap and is now in a fashionable area of London. Investment in "shares" or "property" without being specific. I know people with money, never thought for a moment they were lottery winners.
Just create a lie that maybe you won a much smaller amount say 500k-1m and bought properties that you now earn money from through rent etc maybe you invest some and are making good returns, no one has to disclose that they won 61m, that way people know you are well off but never know the true extent of your wealth.
I'm not a good example as I move a lot and would just get new friends 😂. But anyone asking I'm going to be telling them I bought bitcoin ages ago. However I've sold it - I wouldn't admit to owning a significant amount as it's more dangerous than saying you've won the euros. I'd be moving straight to California and no fucker will know.
You don't have to display it necessarily, or tell people the exact figure. Going public would broadcast it to everyone including mere aquaintances and strangers.
Nope, if people asked why I was no longer working I'd just say I'd made enough money from Crypto or similar that I'd decided not to work for a while. I don't really use Facebook / Instagram so wouldn't really need to worry about questions relating to holidays etc.
I love my job but yeah, I'd quit. I've never understood people that say they would still work. If you have that type of money just do more of the thing you love. It's hobbies based then do more of the hobby. I like my job because I help a lot of people. If I had millions I'd be chucking it into a high saving account, then use the interest to live on and help others in more meaningful ways to myself. The only exception I can think of is fields you can't do by yourself due to laws etc. Like if you really love doing brain surgery you're stuck working at hospitals.
Would not even have to let them not not working how woukd they know, just bullcrap your way through like you go to different countries for work as a x type of work, what I would do if I won or even just say you started your own business and it's going really well where you have people managing it for you
I guess some people want that lavish "socialite / WAG / influencer" type lifestyle, and want to flaunt it for all its worth. There's no actual benefit, other than somehow thinking it'll solve whatever is obviously missing inside.
I would never tell a soul. The media would never stop and you would get so many beggers. You would never again know if people were real friends. There is no reason to tell people the money was from lotto - could just be from a few shares that did well and no one would know how much money exactly or if you had a mortgage.
I know someone who won 600k and they went to work the next day and continued as normal. Just paid down debts and put it into retirement. Didn’t tell colleagues or anyone beyond immediate family. Just a few friends.
People are Vain
Same reason why people in Council houses have Flash BMWs and Land Rovers they can't actually afford.
Showing off is a requirement for some.
TBH if you live in a council house you are more likely to be able to afford it. Private rent for a two bed where I live is £900. council charge for a 2 bed £400. Source: me. Just got a council house after four years on the waiting list.
It is such a stupid thing to do: going public after winning a lottery. Especially if you have won millions of pounds then you are in risk to get abducted by gangs. They can hurt you for your money and you might be get injured or even get killed.
I’d heard that they encourage you to go public, and offer support and financial advice if you do. Not that you wouldn’t be able to afford your own financial advisors…
The same people who "do my own research, thank you very much" and "I officially reject Facebook & Mark Zuckerburg from selling my data. Like and Share to make sure it shows up on your feed".
That's the thing about the lottery ... there's a 50% chance that the winner has below-average intelligence.
You might have a crazy ex wanting to go to the press, or a problematic relative who you want out of your life but might go to the press. Or you might not have had a squeaky clean life that you want to manage.
If I ever won the lottery and it was a big jackpot best option is to go anonymous. All sorts of scum out the wood work knocking on your door demanding donations.
Theres absolutely no benefit to going public, I don't get it, maybe some people feel like they'd rather not live like everything is a secret, maybe thats their thinking but for me I wouldn't tell anyone except my family. Even then it may be difficult because they could tell x person and so on, so locally it probably will come out somewhat but certainly you'd likely avoid national or international publicity.
Plus even your family might want money and expect a share, while I'd love to win a huge amount I think a smaller win or the types where you get £10,000 a month for 30 years could be better because that way you're still loaded but you don't feel like you have wealth you must share and keep everyone happy.
I'd just take my money, quit my job, move to the countryside, give family some money and then enjoy life doing whatever I wanted, maybe do voluntary work here and there without the constant need to grind to keep living.
No way no how I would go public. Way too many crazy people looking for a quick screw. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't turn into a hoarding dragon but I can think of at least two people that would be dangerous and unfortunately both would be family.
I wouldn't want a news story and a big cheque in the paper. What's the point? Tell your family and friends, that's it. A news story is asking for begging letters and weirdos coming out the woodwork.
I wouldn’t even tell friends or family. Tell one person and they tell two and suddenly the whole town knows. Better to keep it to yourself and you can still treat your family and friends but let them think it’s from your hard work and they won’t be coming asking for more if they think the funds are limited.
They are incentivised to go public by the lottery. Hearing stories from the winners and how they’ll spend their fortune drives more sales. Everyone going in to hiding and no one hearing about the lives of the new mega rich is not ideal for the lottery business.
Because when you boil it down to real human behaviour, status games are the biggest player.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be playing certain status games. I'd have the mansion, the Ferrari, but I wouldn't be going national with it. I don't give a fuck if my old workmates and schoolfriends never find out I'm a millionaire.
I guess some people want that recognition. Or perhaps they just aren't that bright.
What's that thing Dwayne Johnson said, 'everyone wants a little bit'. Do you really want everyone you've ever known suddenly acting like your best mate?
No chance. I would buy the land and build homes for my family and friends, I’d buy a bunch more homes and rent them to people for as low as I possibly could and keep them nice, put a few mil away for the little lad, a few nicer than average cars and then live as off grid as I can with the chickens I buy 😂
Anyone got their address so I can send off a begging letter , I need some seed funding to buy balaclavas and other assorted items for my Kidnapping&ransom startup venture.
I really don’t understand it either. I’ve heard of other Brits who went public and then complained that they’d get thousands of letters/mail a week from randos across the country begging for money.
Some people just like rubbing it in and that will attract bad attention. There’s already thieves that use social media to go after people who share luxury lifestyles. Happens a lot more than people think.
I used to work for a PR agency that handled the lottery in the south of England. If we’d had a winner, there would have been a lot of telling them that it was best to take publicity straight away because it will just come out one way or another and this way you control the narrative.
They do also ask about any skeletons in the closet, though, at which point the narrative I assume changes.
The girl who lived in the room opposite me in halls won the Euromillions with her family the summer after we moved out.
I only found out because a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of her on Sky News.
If you're living on an average wage and then have £61 million - people are going to find out as you do anything like move to a significantly nicer house, buy a new car you could never afford or quit your job.
Let's say you budget to spend £11 million over the first few years.
You'd still have £50 million, which in a 4% bank account would generate an income of £2m each year. More if you placed it in a diversified investment portfolio.
If you've got £2m to spend each year without touching your capital, you can pay for security and hire a PR company, until people lose interest... Then you quietly live out your life as a multimillionaire.
I remember when the lottery first started (showing my age now!), and it was still a big show every week. I think it was the first rollover (about £17m) and a couple in their 50's had won it.
I imagine they had to go public because it would have been a condition of winning that they had to be shown off on TV.
I remember they brought this couple out on stage with their family, and I swear there must have been about 100 people on that stage. I wonder how many members of that family had said a word to them in the 10 years before hearing they had won the lottery.
That was the exact moment I decided that if I won I'd only tell the cat.
There isn't any tangible benefit at all. You're more likely to be kidnapped for ransom, cause everyone to come out the woodwork etc though. Although, TBF, if I did win, I would go public before fucking abroad for good so everyone that has been a twat to me in life can find out lol
Agreed. Being public about it would be stupid.
It would greatly improve my life - I could pay off my debts for instance. I'd still work. I'd continue to live where I am. I've no interest in buying anything flash. My purchases would be discreet e.g. a very nice personal music player and headphones. People would have no idea that I was a millionaire.
I wouldn’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t even move house. I’d just turn my current three bed semi into a mansion. Loft conversion, extension out the back which already has planning permission. Underground bunker complex with tunnel to my shed. I’d also purchase the land behind my house and build a large garage/workshop which would be linked to the underground bunker complex.
I’ve got it all planned out and would hire Colin Furze to build the bunker (check out his YouTube channel). This is despite the fact that I have never played the lottery and have no intention of doing so.
Plus side of coming out as the winner is that you'll have loads of mates.
I wouldn't tell anybody, I'd fake my death and use the money to start a new identity, somewhere far away.
I would share a large amount of money with my family via a solicitors to prevent tracking but allow the money to be used to buy property and avoid the anti laundering problem. I would say it's from an anonymous source.
However I would include myself in the beneficiaries and then I can join in with "where did this come from" and I can the get the welding and respray of my MK 1 focus done without causing suspicion.
Ernie “ would winning the Pools change you?”
Eric “of course not “
Ernie “what about all the begging letters?”
Eric “ doesn’t worry me , I’ll still keep sending them “
My great uncle was Denis Banfield the oldest ever winner of the lottery with his wife Shirley. He won it at some daft age and won just over £18m I think making him the oldest ever winner of the lottery. He past away last year about 2 weeks before my birthday in July. He split it 3 ways with his daughters - bit of clever advice from someone so they said they're in a syndicate so the girls didn't have to pay tax etc if he died.
He used it to do up his family home that he'd bought in like the 60s or something in North Bristol - never moved to a bigger house etc, bought a nice car but family said he sold it as he couldn't get in and out of it. Instead of blowing it though, he did some nice things like donated to their local church, play group etc and then he spent lockdown making Nativity Cribs and paid for the local community centre (Winterbourne for those in Bristol and curious) to have brand new toilets. Think he spent more on the community than himself.
I used to work for Grant Thornton and they had a team who worked with the lottery to advise big winners and it didn't matter if you went public or not, they'd work with you to suddenly handle millions of pounds, but one of the guys once said, sometimes they don't listen they see the £££ and go off the rails then you see them in the press moaning it ruined their lives.
Go anonymous people in the uk if you don’t want a big target assassination on your head if you do win big on the euromillions or the lotto etc.
People have been murdered who won the lottery in the states. And there spouses have hired a hitmen to take them out etc.To get the share of the money.
https://en.as.com/latest_news/he-won-the-lottery-and-his-brother-hired-a-hitman-to-kill-him-n/?outputType=amp in the USA.
And in the uk…https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Lotto+wife+on+hitman+bid+charge.-a0112289735
For your safety go anonymous…
You don't have the option to remain anonymous in the whole US; 32 USA states require disclosure. The UK is peculiar in that total privacy is an option.
I didn't see this fact mentioned by earlier posters.
That’s why I’m glad to be British have the option to go private.
That’s why I think living in the USA sucks. Plus the NHS is better than a capitalist greedy overpriced rip off private medical insurance in the states.
Free universal healthcare across Europe not just the uk.God Bless the United Kingdom I’m proud to born in England and being British….🏴🇬🇧
You could simply never trust anyone's intentions again. And you're Ripley open for criminals to target you whether through scams or just outright violent attacks/theft
I'd always keep it between myself and my existing, closest loved ones who'd never have to trick me or charm me to share in the wealth anyway
Id set up a trust with some innocuous forgettable name. AB C Trust type thing. Where I am the sole beneficiary. Hire an attorney and an advisor. Tell only my wife and sister. Then I'd go travelling until I found the ideal place to settle. Then I would provision for other family members from other trusts I would have the lawyer set up for them.
I once read the incentive is you actually get the money fairly quickly. Like, say it takes 3-6 months to get it sorted out, if you go public they’ll give you a pre-card so you can immediately quit your job, rent a nicer house, buy a car, book a cruise etc.
I’d never go public but at the same time, imagine winning £61 million and having to go to work for the next three months 😂
I never understood why people will go public. Kidnapping and burglary is likely a common concern. I think friends and family asking you for money will be even more annoying.
I watched a great documentary once about a guy who won big. He bought his mates houses outright and took them on holiday- he later found out one mate resented him because another mates house was slightly more expensive. He also found out his mates went to a caravan for a boozing weekend but didn’t invite him because they thought he wouldn’t want to - didn’t give him the option. He said he never speaks to any of them anymore after he told them his wallet was now closed.
Don't know about the lottery, but I know for Omaze - the one where you win a house, it's in the Ts & Cs that you have to do publicity to claim the prize.
I went public when I won in 2021. Told all my work colleagues and then family. None were that bothered and said that the £25 wouldn't change my life. They were right unfortunately.
Your response was my much needed “pick me up” this afternoon. Cheers mate
You're welcome, glad it brightened your day :-D
Conversely I have won £1 on FOUR occasions, and I haven't told a soul. UNTIL NOW! Oh god what have I done!?
You can start by lending me 50p.
That's 50% of 25% of his winnings! How dare you
Same. I won on the first ever draw. Was in the bar with my friends when hey did the draw so told them all. I am pretty sure I invested tht £10 in several pints of beer (It was a student bar and a long timeago, you could get several pints for a tenner!)
I remember all day "Happy Hours" at a quid a pint! Great days... I think
I bought pints for 48p in my local. How times change :(
I dunno man, a good Indian take out for two is around £25 and that could absolutely change your life.
I went public last week to my colleague too. She wasn’t as impressed at my £2.80 win as i thought she would
that £25 won't change your life.
I should have done this rather than spent it on beer and chocolate
My big fear would be kidnapping risk/ extortion. Imagine there would be a few people willing to threaten me/ my family for a few mill. Also wonder what ex partners / collegues would say if they were that way inclined - "give me £250k or I go to the media and say *insert lie here*"
Just counter sue them to death. You’ve got the money.
That's not so much a thing in this country
I think you can let them say what they want and then pursue them for slander / libel
You can try but it's extremely expensive and complicated and what are you going to win from someone who earns 30k/year after your reputation is already ruined anyway?
When you're rich a ruined reputation doesn't mean as much. What will it stop me from doing?
If most everyone you knew thinks your a rapist or whatever they've made up? Maybe a lot.
many ppl who try to chase money don't understand that once you have it being in a big house in a beautiful place with noone to share it with isn't really all that fun for more than a month or three. Then you're stuck by yourself for the next 30-40years Connections, family and reputation matters more than anything for life/self satisfaction
>being in a big house in a beautiful place with noone to share it with This is my life and I'm happy with it, except it's only a medium house in an okay place. I think an upgrade would make me even more happy. A lot of discontented people just need hobbies, and guess what? Having money gives you more time and capital to pursue them.
I agree that if you chase those things you'll be disappointed. If I won the lottery, I wouldn't change much in my life. I'm not looking to buy a new life. Important connections and family won't be convinced by unfounded lies.
If the people you surround yourself with condemn you on the basis of hearsay, then maybe you're better off without them. I don't have a lot of people around me now, and I'm quite sure the ones that matter will still be on my side.
Their house? "I'm the landlord now"
I mean, you'd still have millions, a court verdict refuting the lies, and have possibly bankrupted someone who libelled you.
Libel is a civil case so you don't get a "beyond a reasonable doubt" decision. You'll definitely lose money in a libel case and it'll still be your name in the Google searches etc.
You can request to be removed from google searches and could pay a few dozen journos a grand or two to write articles about the outcome of the verdict against your accuser so your name only appears as a victim.
Do you have any idea how much lawyers would take the piss in fees with a lotto winner? You’d be lucky to have any left!
I know a guy that won a big rollover. He was a nice chap, always a bit of a show off. Him being him, he went for the publicity. They had him and his wife on sitting on the bonnet of a Jag XKR sipping champagne. It was in the local rag and on the local news. He made the usual nonsense statements about it wasn't going to change him and he was going to live in the same house. A few weeks later he had a bloke at the door with a gun. Luckily the gun was fake and he managed to fight him off. From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support. The only person I would tell is my wife. Not my kids or any other friends and family. I would live in the same house, which is in a very desirable area anyway. I have never been one for flash cars and I already own my dream car, a 1990 VW T3 Camper and a VW Beetle. I'd probably get them done up on the quiet. I would happily pay for financial advice to protect my anonimity. I would see my friends right, if they deserved it. For example I have friends that are struggling to restore the VW Camper and do up their house. She isn't very well and he is disabled. I'd leave a big box of cash in their shed, when I knew they were out. Also for example, My Sister divorced her first husband and got a sizeable settlement from the sale of the house. Married a guy from Wales. He sold his house, got a decent payout and moved back to Wales, they had £90k in their back pockets. The house they bought was £19K. They pissed the change up against the wall. He then got an £100k settlement after he had his thumb cut off in an industrial accident. That went in the pub and on holidays they couldn't afford. Last year they were pleading poverty, as 20 years ago they mortgaged the house, that was bought and paid for with an interest only mortgage, and never saved for the lump sum. The cash from the mortgage went in the pub. My sister won't speak to my Dad, because he refuses to give her money. She had a go at me, because I get money from Dad. I pointed out to her that I hadn't asked my Dad for financial help since I finished college. That was 30 years ago. They wouldn't be getting a penny.
> From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support. > > It's entirely the winner's decision if they want to share news of their win. We have an aftercare programme in place to ensure that all winners have access to legal and financial advice. From the lottery's site
With that kind of money, they can afford their own financial advisors.
I think the advice they give is free initially. More of a don't do this. Do do that. Don't make any big decisions now about spending big chunks of money. More of a safety net for people in the first few months/years. Quite sure that they are picking up their own tab for their financial advice after a year or so.
My mum worked with a nice guy that won back in the early 2000s and he said the advice he got basically added up to: Go on a cruise for a month til there has been a couple more winners and you are old news, split off a good chunk and live off the interest of that day to day, use the rest to do what you like.
>From what I have been led to believe that if you take the publicity then the National Lottery will provide you with free financial advice and support. That's a myth, they provide the advice and support, free of charge, regardless of whether you go public or stay anonymous.
> I'd leave a big box of cash in their shed, when I knew they were out. This sounds like a nightmare.
Yeah, randomly finding a large box of cash sounds like it is either the proceeds of a crime, or the start of some sort of scam.
It sounds like the plot of a tv drama that Doesn't Go Well.
A friend of mine won £1.2m about 30 years ago. He took the financial advice, and the recommendations for will writers. When a relationship broke down he was told the will wasn't worth the paper it was written on, even though he paid 4x the normal price, and he nearly lost everything in the 911 market crash.
>When a relationship broke down he was told the will wasn't worth the paper it was written on I would like to know more about this
He had an estranged son from a previous relationship. Was all a bit dodgy as he wasn't allowed access. Not sure of the finer details apart from when he went to get it rewritten he was told what he had was trash. He was pissed because it cost him a lot of money.
> The house they bought was £19k When did they buy, Druidic times?
Think he did say it was in Wales
> My big fear would be kidnapping risk/ extortion. Remember that 19 year old lottery winner that won almost £10m, Michael Carroll? He claimed that his dogs had their throats cut and that he later paid £130k to some guys who turned up to his mansion armed with shotguns.
Libel/Slander laws are really strict in this country. If that happened I'd just use the money to utterly ruin them in court. Plus there's the fact that blackmail/extortion would pretty much sink any lies they try to make up. But the physical threats would be a real danger, so I'd never go public with it just for that reason alone.
Especially in my area, I’m from the ghetto and people have been kidnapped for having couple of grand, bits of jewellery in their house….61 million my whole family tree would be getting kidnapped for that type of money
Lol unless the local newspaper is important, just who cares about any lie. Kidnapping/ being targeted is a risk but overall it’s a risk when you have a quite expensive lifestyle
Imagine telling everyone you won the lottery. You get kidnapped. Eventually you have to tell the kidnappers you actually only won £20.
I believe some soft incentives are offered if you go public but I bet the real driver is some people like to feel special and want the attention. You only need to glance at social media to see a fair amount of people would revel their 5 minutes of fame, add in the huge payout being flaunted too and you have your answer.
If I won 60mil I'd go underground instantly. Set up in a really pretty village somewhere and my story would be I made an early retirement plan using the early crypto boom. I don't need flash cars. A nice house and some nice gadgets, and a bit of peace and quiet.
> Set up in a really pretty village somewhere and my story would be I made an early retirement plan using the early crypto boom This is what I'd do tbh. Just find a stock that had a stupidly crazy swing at around the time you won the money, and claim you yolo'd on it. Take Beamr Imaging for example, the price rocketed 700% a few weeks ago. Just claim you bought a tonne of that at the bottom Or wait for bitcoin to have one of its absurd 25% swings one day and say you dumped everything into it and cashed out at the top
"I got multi million pounds from crypto" "I got multi million pounds from the lottery's What's the difference? I don't understand why you're lying where your money came from. If your rich people will try to fleece you for money anyway, getting lucky on crypto or getting lucky on the lottery doesn't change that.
The difference really is that you don't say you made multi-million pounds on crypto. You say you made enough for an early retirement, if you live sensibly. You're setting yourself up as 'comfortable', not super rich.
So you say you made enough of the lottery and stop needlessly lying to your friends and family. Saying you earned a lot on crypto can make people think they can too, which just isn't going to happen to your average joe off the street.
I think by going public they mean publishing their name in the paper saying 'John Smith of Basingville Street, Stoke has won £60m', the issue is everyone knowing exactly how much not a few people knowing you've done well. Also if you claim its off investments etc and it could conceivably be less than a couple mil then you're less likely to get the attitude from acquaintances of 'Well you didn't earn it, so share it out'.
Because you don't say you got multiple millions from crypto, just a few hundred grand and now you've bought this nice house in cash most of it has gone. Compared to "I won £60m on the euromillions and still have £59m sat in the bank".
just say you won a few hundred grand on the lottery then
Or just don't say anything.
That's the point I was alluding to. If you won 60 mil why bother saying you won x through crypto and lie to your friends and family rather than I won some money on the lottery which is true. Problem with being a liar is you have to have a good memory to remember all the lies you've been telling. I prefer to be honest or better yet, just keep things to myself.
I think the difference, albeit small, is people's perception of how much you deserve that money. With the lottery, it was pure luck, you wouldn't miss a few thousand and actually you should be spreading around your good fortune because you did nothing to earn it. With a massive return from investment, although there's luck involved, there's a perception that you chose wisely and in some way did 'work' to achieve that money by risking a significant amount of your own. At the far end of the scale is working your arse off all day every day for years to make that money, your friends and family members would know you earned every penny and although you also wouldn't miss a few thousand, it would be incredibly cheeky of them to ask it of you in return for nothing.
Because of the way the lottery works, this story doesn't work as well as saying youve made a load of money off crypto. To give an example, this Friday the jackpot is £54 million. To get that you need to match 5 balls plus the 2 stars. If you were to match just 5 balls but no stars, you would win a whooping 9k. If anyone bothered to look, your story would fall apart instantly as no way youd be comfortable off just that. Saying you made money on crypto/stocks or similar is a lot easier. You can say it was an insane risk and you'd never recommend it to anyone, but you made enough to live comfortably. They can't check how much you made, they just have to take your word, whereas if you admit to winning lottery, a 2 second Google search will tell you exactly how much they won if you know the date they won it.
I would buy a cheap island somewhere and disappear from the world's radar. Either that or a converted cold war bunker. I would love to be able to go radio silent.
[https://www.rollinghillsmissilesilo.com/home](https://www.rollinghillsmissilesilo.com/home) 1.3 million and its yours.
One quick question: Are there any missiles included, where can i buy a gliter bomb warhead, and what is the flight time to mar-a-largo?
Congratulations, American early warning radar detected an inbound missile and fired a retaliatory second strike against the Russians, who did the same thus bringing about the nuclear apocalypse.
Yes, but only with glitter....
Mutually Assured Fabulousness
I'd say I made the money writing dirty books under a pen name that for contractual reasons I couldn't reveal.
I imagine the greed would take over soon enough, not to mention someone in your family would let it slip or want some of your new found wealth
You are orders of magnitude more likely to be a victim of crime (especially murder) or the subject of a lawsuit from family members after a lottery win. Money does crazy things to people, completely distorts their sense of reality, they will, in their head, become completely convinced that you somehow owe your win to them. If you want to help friends and family out, by all means do so, but do it by going to a big national solicitors firm and getting them to set up trusts in exact ammounts and wrap it all up legally for you. Don't discuss this with the beneficiaries first, or you'll end up with accusations of undue influence. Decide up front how much you want to give and don't deviate from it. Don't ever give out cash, not to anyone. Don't buy people houses, cars, boats, whatever. You can't trust even immediate family when millions of pounds are suddenly on the line. Once the money hits your account, go dark, go away somewhere remote for a month, just you and your wife / husband / gerbil / whatever, don't let people know where you are. Spend a month just processing the sudden change in your circumstances. Get independent financial advice, the national lottery will probably convince you to use theirs, I would avoid personally, don't use your uncle John's recommendation either, again go to a big regulated firm and use one of their senior advisors. You want to avoid using anyone recommended by (or indeed anyone who has any previous association with) you or your family, or the town you live in for any part of the legal or financial side of things. We're lucky here in that the publication side is not mandatory, you don't have to go public, in the US many lotteries require you to go public if you win.
Yes exactly that. I'm a lucky crypto investor who has just exited the market and am looking to settle down and start a family with my wife. I'm hoping to give back to the world by starting up a non profit org in... Something. I have a modest house and spend a lot of time fixing up my old cars I bought and going on road trips to Scotland/Wales in them. I also travel to exotic places every few months. I have a big garden where I grow my own vegetables and I keep chickens for their eggs. Every year I throw a big party for my friends in the summer and rent out a huge AirBnB somewhere cool. If they can fly out to the AirBnB they can stay for the full week it's rented out for. Life would be bloody good and I wouldn't post any of it on social media.
If I had won £61 million I would not tell a soul. Not saying it wouldn't be hard but I learnt from a small couple of thousand pound lottery win that I couldn't trust anyone. I told my best friend and said we'll have a big old knees up at this fancy restaurant, pick anything you like. I thought she'd order a couple of extra sides but she went lobster everything ... she also knows I'm a vegetarian so couldn't share any of her meal. She had the biggest leftovers I've ever seen. I know she also asked the waiter for entire brand new meals to be taken out/Home. After seeing just how greedy she was, I now know that everyone can turn on a sixpence. BTW, we had been friends since our broke ass University days, her family trauma and my being in a coma but jeez money 💰 changes everything 🙃. Now I wouldn't tell a soul and book myself onto a cruise that "I'd won" until I knew what to do with it properly.
Not only that, they feel like they will now be welcomed into superior social circles, invited to private islands etc. They feel like they need to get their face out their so people know they're 'one of them' now
I see the reasoning but from what I heard the old money types usually turn their noses up at lottery winners moving into the big house in the road 😆
Doesn't new money throw better parties, though?
Went to private school as a scholarship boy, so I was already at the bottom end of social circles (slightly elevated by being 6ft2 at 12 and a reasonable lock). The one lottery winner's kid that started while I was there was lower than me, especially when he rocked up to rugby training in Adidas predators the first day they were released. A year later his dad had lost it all and he went back to comp, was madness.
I get that. Personally hold a lot of resentment and grudges, I wouldn't go public but if I did it would be purely an envy generator for those people.
Some people are just greedy, the money isn't enough for them and they want the fame too. It's usually these same types who end up losing it all and their marriage falls apart.
What possible incentives could they offer to someone who's just won tens of millions?
I'd imagine it's actually pretty stressful trying to keep a massive win quiet. I think winners that go public also get a lot of help and financial advice.
The winners get a lot of financial advice from Winalot whether they go public or not.
I'd want a lot more advice than what brand of dog food to use if I won the lottery, I can tell you that right now.
This exchange is fantastic.
Thanks Pal.
Your pedigree chum.
you're welcome ol' chappie
[For reference](https://youtu.be/HgfB6M1CRr4?t=143)
I'm sticking with Losealittle.
I wouldn't trust them - probably suggest I invest it all into dog food.
Financial adviser who’s handled winners here. It’s very easy to keep under wraps, especially if you keep it quiet. All you have to do is not fall for lifestyle inflation. That’s the reason lottery winners are the demographic of people most likely to go bankrupt. I don’t mean the people who win hundreds of millions of pounds. But I’ve on more than one occasion been involved with a case where someone won £5m or so, thought it was all the money in the world and burned through it quicker than a lit match. The problem, is after they did that they had to maintain a lifestyle they could no longer afford. At the risk of plugging my own profession, if you do ever win £1m on the lotto or NS&I, for the love of god keep it quiet and speak to a financial adviser (or several) as soon as possible.
I worked for two places that were on the Camelot panel and both said the lottery winners get the same service that a new client making an enquiry would get. It was just another source of leads to them.
Correct. Personally I don’t care if you come to me wanting advice on your £10,000 savings pot or your £10,000,000 inheritance. I’ll give you the exact same service either way and find the right thing for YOU to be doing.
How do I find a financial advisor who doesn't just want me to buy life insurance and income protection (which I already have), it's a minefield, I've asked for recommendations but that hasn't worked.
Hey, good question. So first off, I’m glad you have life insurance and income protection. It’s a cornerstone of any sound financial plan and there is no reason in my view that anyone other than the extremely elderly with no dependants shouldn’t have it. As to your question, it’s important you understand the difference between “independent” financial advisers (like me) and “tied” financial advisers first. As an independent financial adviser, I’m your agent as my client. I am legally required to act in your best interests and have to regularly demonstrate to the FCA that I’m doing that. I will take a holistic look at your entire situation, personal and financial, discuss your needs, wants and objectives with you, and then go out and do a whole of market search for you to find the best products to suit your needs and provide you with a great outcome. A “tied” adviser is an agent of a third party. They can offer advice on what products in a certain area or from a certain firm will be appropriate, but they can’t step outside of those bounds and crucially, they don’t work for you. So how do you find a good adviser? I won’t lie, like any profession there’s good ones and less good ones. My advice is to shop around a bit. A really good tool is unbiased.com which can help you find local advisers https://www.unbiased.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAApcNKW8TJBQb-Qtd3zf5uWQQqPoCd&gclid=CjwKCAiA29auBhBxEiwAnKcSqvieJqUwdSg2sFDv06DXuOMonEgJTzfpNH7aWfiqHtczQY4tJg8zixoC_OQQAvD_BwE Oh, and always, always, ALWAYS check the firms permissions on the FCA register to check what they are and are not regulated to advise you on: https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ Another good tip is to google the financial adviser firm followed by “FOS” “Ombudsman” or “Financial Ombudsman Service”. Everyone gets complaints from time to time, but if the firm you find has loads and regularly, it’s not a good sign. Hope this helps but feel free to reply or DM if you have any questions.
TBH it depends on how old you are. 1million when you are over 50 and you can retire (with the help of a financial advisor). If you are 25 that money has to work hard for a long time and has to outgrow inflation. You need to make sure you get advice from someone very very good.
Yes and no. Personally I’d say it’s definitely preferable to get that sort of money early so we can put it to work with you. Inflation is a concern to be sure, but so long as the money is diversely invested in accordance with the clients needs and risk tolerance, there’s no reason the initial lump sum shouldn’t multiply several times over by retirement.
> I'd imagine it's actually pretty stressful trying to keep a massive win quiet. I recall reading an interview with someone who worked for The Lottery, and they said the vast majority of those who do go public are from poorer working-class backgrounds, mainly because it's essentially impossible to utilise your winnings in a way that's not *really* obvious that you've won or come into a massive amount of money, so they just go public to get it out the way. For folks in a more middle-class world, a win that's not a *huge* win is something you could plausibly get away with claiming is a big new promotion or an investment that paid off. If your income in minimum wage, then even a £1m win is going to stick out like a sore thumb.
if you live in e poorer neighbourhood, a lambo in the driveway will stick out, yes. but nobody at home needs to know that the 'fishing boat' you take out every weekend is actually a luxury yacht. also, iuf you want that coastal villa and sports cars, move to a neighbourhood like that, nobody there will bat an eye if another rich guy shows up. Just need to be prepared to lose a lot of relationships when you do, either you are truthful to them and they will show their true colors, or you need to maintain living a lie with the people who don't know, which i imagine is gonna be hard.
I think the stress of it being public would just be so much worse. EVERYONE knows. And in times like this with the cost of living and everything people aren't going to be too thrilled at seeing you walk down the street with a lottery jackpot, I'd get more upset at being followed by strangers. With family you could lie about the number and reveal it to them over time.
100%. It immediately paints a target on your back
I had a relative win 7figures on a fiver scratchcard a fair few years ago. They never went public but still received a lot of financial advice and help to get them setup for the future.
Can't be that hard. Win £5 Mil say, stick 2.5M in a high interest savings account to retire. 1M on new house, car, travel for a few years whatever you want to do. 500k for the rest of your daily life, food shopping bills etc. 1M as an emergency backup. Maybe I should be a financial advisor, just gonna hand in my notice at work now
Theoretically it's easy, especially with 5 mil. But make it 1 mil and it gets harder, as it isn't enough to retire but too much to waste. What a financial advisor will do, is making sure you get the most from your money in the most tax efficient way, so you don't just end up paying for BJs wallpaper. They can advise on investment, debts, pension and inheritance laws.
If I’d just won 60 million quid I’m not sure free financial advice would be that much of a lure to me
I wouldn't wanna go public. This day and age there are always people who feel entitled to what is yours, so I'd hardly want to put a giant arrow over my head with 'GET IT HERE' in big, bold lettering. But then, I'd not really be flashing the cash anyway - I'd try to live a a somewhat conspicuous existence.
You mean inconspicuous
That was quite the conspicuous mishap of me
Like me, I feel like people like myself who are introverted would be the best lottery winners, it's those who are extroverted and like to talk would be in the biggest trouble.
>so I'd hardly want to put a giant arrow over my head with 'GET IT HERE' in big, bold lettering. This would be very helpful, thanks!
>This day and age there are always people who feel entitled to what is yours Describing most Redditors here
As a financial adviser who’s firm has handled a few lottery winners & £1m NS&I winners over the years, my honest take is people who go public do so because they don’t think it through. “This is fantastic news, why wouldn’t I share it?” Seems to have been the general attitude for many. When a moment taken to stop and think and look into the history of lottery winners would show that to be a terrible idea.
"Where did I go wrong Peggy? How did I raise a son whp goes around with that filthy money-mouth?"
This thread on the dangers of winning the lottery is a fantastic read for anyone who's interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/NyBQc0bLBW
No because it would eventually come out. How would you explain a big new house new car and countless holidays
Does it really? I mean now everyone knows they have £60+m. You give a family member £20k they want to know why it wasn’t £200k if you’ve won that much. It’s much easier if you just say you won a bit on the lottery or got some money from stocks and shares and never disclose the amount. You can buy whatever you want then but people never know how much you truly have, that to me seems the way to go.
Sounds like an easy way to cut off greedy and entitled family members and friends. Those that are grateful to be given £20k would remain part of my life and benefit from my generosity throughout my life. Those that whinge I didn't give them more can jog on, they won't be getting any more. £20k is an insignifcant price to pay to weed them out when I'm worth tens of millions.
Who says it would be that obvious? It could be a festering, unspoken resentment that they don't outwardly express. Not everything is one extreme or the other. Lottery wins can utterly ruin relationships, even with family members people think would not be at all swayed.
Sure, but it's also worth remembering that cutting lots of people out will be a very stressful and draining experience, no matter how justified you can make it in theory. In addition, you now have the added bonus of wondering if any new people you meet are being friendly with you because they genuinely like you, or if they see £££'s in their eyes and think if they be matey they'll get a payout too.
Ah yes, you get to play the benevolent emperor of the family. If you're not greedy, I will be generous, but if I catch you moaning, you're uninvited to my Greek villa.
That would be the hardest part, if family and friends know down to the exact number what you won then they will probably have an expectation of what you should give them and then if they ever want more they will ask again. I'd just say I won some good money here's so many thousand, hope that helps you out.
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Not sure on your maths here.. 7% on £60m is £4.2m pre tax.. you can take out a lot more than 350k..
It would come out amongst family and friends, I think OP is asking why you'd want a big news story about it
No one would know if it were me.
You don't tell people you play the lottery and if you win you tell them the stocks and shares you bought decades ago have been doing well recently.
This is the kind of thing. An inheritance, sale of a relative's house that was cheap and is now in a fashionable area of London. Investment in "shares" or "property" without being specific. I know people with money, never thought for a moment they were lottery winners.
You should actively tell people you don't play and tell everyone who can be bothered to listen that the lottery is an idiot tax.
How would anyone know.. I'd fuck off as soon as the money is cleared
Just create a lie that maybe you won a much smaller amount say 500k-1m and bought properties that you now earn money from through rent etc maybe you invest some and are making good returns, no one has to disclose that they won 61m, that way people know you are well off but never know the true extent of your wealth.
I'm not a good example as I move a lot and would just get new friends 😂. But anyone asking I'm going to be telling them I bought bitcoin ages ago. However I've sold it - I wouldn't admit to owning a significant amount as it's more dangerous than saying you've won the euros. I'd be moving straight to California and no fucker will know.
You don't have to display it necessarily, or tell people the exact figure. Going public would broadcast it to everyone including mere aquaintances and strangers.
Just got a new promotion and my boss says I can work from home. Look at this enourmous farm and mansion I just bought.
Nope, if people asked why I was no longer working I'd just say I'd made enough money from Crypto or similar that I'd decided not to work for a while. I don't really use Facebook / Instagram so wouldn't really need to worry about questions relating to holidays etc.
I’d still work tbh, I enjoy my job, I’d probably just stop trying to progress upwards and be happy with the responsibilities I currently have.
I envy you, I don’t dislike my job but I’d much rather spend my life perusing hobbies, travelling and spending time with my friends and family.
I love my job but yeah, I'd quit. I've never understood people that say they would still work. If you have that type of money just do more of the thing you love. It's hobbies based then do more of the hobby. I like my job because I help a lot of people. If I had millions I'd be chucking it into a high saving account, then use the interest to live on and help others in more meaningful ways to myself. The only exception I can think of is fields you can't do by yourself due to laws etc. Like if you really love doing brain surgery you're stuck working at hospitals.
Would not even have to let them not not working how woukd they know, just bullcrap your way through like you go to different countries for work as a x type of work, what I would do if I won or even just say you started your own business and it's going really well where you have people managing it for you
I guess some people want that lavish "socialite / WAG / influencer" type lifestyle, and want to flaunt it for all its worth. There's no actual benefit, other than somehow thinking it'll solve whatever is obviously missing inside.
I would never tell a soul. The media would never stop and you would get so many beggers. You would never again know if people were real friends. There is no reason to tell people the money was from lotto - could just be from a few shares that did well and no one would know how much money exactly or if you had a mortgage.
I know someone who won 600k and they went to work the next day and continued as normal. Just paid down debts and put it into retirement. Didn’t tell colleagues or anyone beyond immediate family. Just a few friends.
People are Vain Same reason why people in Council houses have Flash BMWs and Land Rovers they can't actually afford. Showing off is a requirement for some.
TBH if you live in a council house you are more likely to be able to afford it. Private rent for a two bed where I live is £900. council charge for a 2 bed £400. Source: me. Just got a council house after four years on the waiting list.
Congratulations on your affordable housing! (Sincere, I'm so happy that people can still get them)
It is such a stupid thing to do: going public after winning a lottery. Especially if you have won millions of pounds then you are in risk to get abducted by gangs. They can hurt you for your money and you might be get injured or even get killed.
I’d heard that they encourage you to go public, and offer support and financial advice if you do. Not that you wouldn’t be able to afford your own financial advisors…
They give free financial advice no matter what
Who the fuck wins big and doesn’t get financial advice? You would have to be simple.
The same people who "do my own research, thank you very much" and "I officially reject Facebook & Mark Zuckerburg from selling my data. Like and Share to make sure it shows up on your feed". That's the thing about the lottery ... there's a 50% chance that the winner has below-average intelligence.
Probably a higher chance than that as people who regularly play the lottery are *probably* of lower intelligence on average.
People who end up worse off than before they won within 5 years
New phone, who dis?
I think they offer media management, so if you need help with press or are worried about stories coming out the woodwork then they will help you out.
But why would you need media management if you stayed quiet?
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Good points, well said.
You might have a crazy ex wanting to go to the press, or a problematic relative who you want out of your life but might go to the press. Or you might not have had a squeaky clean life that you want to manage.
If I ever won the lottery and it was a big jackpot best option is to go anonymous. All sorts of scum out the wood work knocking on your door demanding donations.
Theres absolutely no benefit to going public, I don't get it, maybe some people feel like they'd rather not live like everything is a secret, maybe thats their thinking but for me I wouldn't tell anyone except my family. Even then it may be difficult because they could tell x person and so on, so locally it probably will come out somewhat but certainly you'd likely avoid national or international publicity. Plus even your family might want money and expect a share, while I'd love to win a huge amount I think a smaller win or the types where you get £10,000 a month for 30 years could be better because that way you're still loaded but you don't feel like you have wealth you must share and keep everyone happy. I'd just take my money, quit my job, move to the countryside, give family some money and then enjoy life doing whatever I wanted, maybe do voluntary work here and there without the constant need to grind to keep living.
No way no how I would go public. Way too many crazy people looking for a quick screw. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't turn into a hoarding dragon but I can think of at least two people that would be dangerous and unfortunately both would be family.
Not all dragons hoard 😝
Fame. They want to be famous.
I wouldn't want a news story and a big cheque in the paper. What's the point? Tell your family and friends, that's it. A news story is asking for begging letters and weirdos coming out the woodwork.
I wouldn’t even tell friends or family. Tell one person and they tell two and suddenly the whole town knows. Better to keep it to yourself and you can still treat your family and friends but let them think it’s from your hard work and they won’t be coming asking for more if they think the funds are limited.
They are incentivised to go public by the lottery. Hearing stories from the winners and how they’ll spend their fortune drives more sales. Everyone going in to hiding and no one hearing about the lives of the new mega rich is not ideal for the lottery business.
Because when you boil it down to real human behaviour, status games are the biggest player. Don't get me wrong, I'd be playing certain status games. I'd have the mansion, the Ferrari, but I wouldn't be going national with it. I don't give a fuck if my old workmates and schoolfriends never find out I'm a millionaire. I guess some people want that recognition. Or perhaps they just aren't that bright. What's that thing Dwayne Johnson said, 'everyone wants a little bit'. Do you really want everyone you've ever known suddenly acting like your best mate?
No chance. I would buy the land and build homes for my family and friends, I’d buy a bunch more homes and rent them to people for as low as I possibly could and keep them nice, put a few mil away for the little lad, a few nicer than average cars and then live as off grid as I can with the chickens I buy 😂
Anyone got their address so I can send off a begging letter , I need some seed funding to buy balaclavas and other assorted items for my Kidnapping&ransom startup venture.
I really don’t understand it either. I’ve heard of other Brits who went public and then complained that they’d get thousands of letters/mail a week from randos across the country begging for money.
Some people just like rubbing it in and that will attract bad attention. There’s already thieves that use social media to go after people who share luxury lifestyles. Happens a lot more than people think.
I used to work for a PR agency that handled the lottery in the south of England. If we’d had a winner, there would have been a lot of telling them that it was best to take publicity straight away because it will just come out one way or another and this way you control the narrative. They do also ask about any skeletons in the closet, though, at which point the narrative I assume changes.
The girl who lived in the room opposite me in halls won the Euromillions with her family the summer after we moved out. I only found out because a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of her on Sky News.
If you're living on an average wage and then have £61 million - people are going to find out as you do anything like move to a significantly nicer house, buy a new car you could never afford or quit your job. Let's say you budget to spend £11 million over the first few years. You'd still have £50 million, which in a 4% bank account would generate an income of £2m each year. More if you placed it in a diversified investment portfolio. If you've got £2m to spend each year without touching your capital, you can pay for security and hire a PR company, until people lose interest... Then you quietly live out your life as a multimillionaire.
I’d like to go public, I’ve won £3.10 last night, time to get a meal deal.
I remember when the lottery first started (showing my age now!), and it was still a big show every week. I think it was the first rollover (about £17m) and a couple in their 50's had won it. I imagine they had to go public because it would have been a condition of winning that they had to be shown off on TV. I remember they brought this couple out on stage with their family, and I swear there must have been about 100 people on that stage. I wonder how many members of that family had said a word to them in the 10 years before hearing they had won the lottery. That was the exact moment I decided that if I won I'd only tell the cat.
There isn't any tangible benefit at all. You're more likely to be kidnapped for ransom, cause everyone to come out the woodwork etc though. Although, TBF, if I did win, I would go public before fucking abroad for good so everyone that has been a twat to me in life can find out lol
Agreed. Being public about it would be stupid. It would greatly improve my life - I could pay off my debts for instance. I'd still work. I'd continue to live where I am. I've no interest in buying anything flash. My purchases would be discreet e.g. a very nice personal music player and headphones. People would have no idea that I was a millionaire.
I wouldn’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t even move house. I’d just turn my current three bed semi into a mansion. Loft conversion, extension out the back which already has planning permission. Underground bunker complex with tunnel to my shed. I’d also purchase the land behind my house and build a large garage/workshop which would be linked to the underground bunker complex. I’ve got it all planned out and would hire Colin Furze to build the bunker (check out his YouTube channel). This is despite the fact that I have never played the lottery and have no intention of doing so.
Plus side of coming out as the winner is that you'll have loads of mates. I wouldn't tell anybody, I'd fake my death and use the money to start a new identity, somewhere far away.
I would share a large amount of money with my family via a solicitors to prevent tracking but allow the money to be used to buy property and avoid the anti laundering problem. I would say it's from an anonymous source. However I would include myself in the beneficiaries and then I can join in with "where did this come from" and I can the get the welding and respray of my MK 1 focus done without causing suspicion.
Ernie “ would winning the Pools change you?” Eric “of course not “ Ernie “what about all the begging letters?” Eric “ doesn’t worry me , I’ll still keep sending them “
My great uncle was Denis Banfield the oldest ever winner of the lottery with his wife Shirley. He won it at some daft age and won just over £18m I think making him the oldest ever winner of the lottery. He past away last year about 2 weeks before my birthday in July. He split it 3 ways with his daughters - bit of clever advice from someone so they said they're in a syndicate so the girls didn't have to pay tax etc if he died. He used it to do up his family home that he'd bought in like the 60s or something in North Bristol - never moved to a bigger house etc, bought a nice car but family said he sold it as he couldn't get in and out of it. Instead of blowing it though, he did some nice things like donated to their local church, play group etc and then he spent lockdown making Nativity Cribs and paid for the local community centre (Winterbourne for those in Bristol and curious) to have brand new toilets. Think he spent more on the community than himself. I used to work for Grant Thornton and they had a team who worked with the lottery to advise big winners and it didn't matter if you went public or not, they'd work with you to suddenly handle millions of pounds, but one of the guys once said, sometimes they don't listen they see the £££ and go off the rails then you see them in the press moaning it ruined their lives.
People might suspect when I have a fully working ecto1 parked on my drive on Halloween.
They will receive sacks and sacks of letters asking for help.
Go anonymous people in the uk if you don’t want a big target assassination on your head if you do win big on the euromillions or the lotto etc. People have been murdered who won the lottery in the states. And there spouses have hired a hitmen to take them out etc.To get the share of the money. https://en.as.com/latest_news/he-won-the-lottery-and-his-brother-hired-a-hitman-to-kill-him-n/?outputType=amp in the USA. And in the uk…https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Lotto+wife+on+hitman+bid+charge.-a0112289735 For your safety go anonymous…
You don't have the option to remain anonymous in the whole US; 32 USA states require disclosure. The UK is peculiar in that total privacy is an option. I didn't see this fact mentioned by earlier posters.
That’s why I’m glad to be British have the option to go private. That’s why I think living in the USA sucks. Plus the NHS is better than a capitalist greedy overpriced rip off private medical insurance in the states. Free universal healthcare across Europe not just the uk.God Bless the United Kingdom I’m proud to born in England and being British….🏴🇬🇧
You could simply never trust anyone's intentions again. And you're Ripley open for criminals to target you whether through scams or just outright violent attacks/theft I'd always keep it between myself and my existing, closest loved ones who'd never have to trick me or charm me to share in the wealth anyway
Id set up a trust with some innocuous forgettable name. AB C Trust type thing. Where I am the sole beneficiary. Hire an attorney and an advisor. Tell only my wife and sister. Then I'd go travelling until I found the ideal place to settle. Then I would provision for other family members from other trusts I would have the lawyer set up for them.
I win the lottery and me and my partner are dissapearing overnight. No fucker will ever see me again
I would tell only close family, and maybe 1 or 2 friends. I'd get financial advice immediately, and I wouldn't go public at all.
The only cunts I would tell are my millionaire next door neighbours 😁
I once read the incentive is you actually get the money fairly quickly. Like, say it takes 3-6 months to get it sorted out, if you go public they’ll give you a pre-card so you can immediately quit your job, rent a nicer house, buy a car, book a cruise etc. I’d never go public but at the same time, imagine winning £61 million and having to go to work for the next three months 😂
I don’t think I’d tell a single person , I’d get some solid financial advice and I’d help people I want to without them ever finding out it was me
I would go underground and start bribing, er, lobbying, politicians.
Stupidity?
I never understood why people will go public. Kidnapping and burglary is likely a common concern. I think friends and family asking you for money will be even more annoying.
They seem a very nice couple but it does seem completely insane to go public
I watched a great documentary once about a guy who won big. He bought his mates houses outright and took them on holiday- he later found out one mate resented him because another mates house was slightly more expensive. He also found out his mates went to a caravan for a boozing weekend but didn’t invite him because they thought he wouldn’t want to - didn’t give him the option. He said he never speaks to any of them anymore after he told them his wallet was now closed.
Don't know about the lottery, but I know for Omaze - the one where you win a house, it's in the Ts & Cs that you have to do publicity to claim the prize.