Mega Millions jackpot winner reveals dark truth of having that much money
Someone who won a Mega Millions jackpot has revealed that winning the huge amount of money isn't as good as you'd expect.
Okay, I'm sure many of us would agree that our lives would be substantially better if we had a vast amount of money in our bank accounts, but is all that comes with being rich a good thing?
Well, this person's experience seems to have been both good and bad.
Taking to Reddit yesterday (September 9), an anonymous poster opened the floor for people to ask questions about what it's like winning a Mega Millions jackpot.
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They wrote: "In 2016, I won the MegaMillions jackpot and took home, after taxes, mid-eight figures. Ask me anything!!!"
Like many of us would do if we all of a sudden became drastically richer, this jackpot winner offered to financially help out their family - but things quickly turned sour.
Discussing some of the lifestyle changes they've faced post-win, the Redditor shared: "After I won, I met with my parents and siblings. I told them what had happened and made the offer to set each of them up with a new house and to establish trusts for each of my nieces and nephews to attend university.
"They filed a lawsuit to try to place me in conservatorship to take control of my asset."
A judge 'laughed them out of the courtroom', however, and the person has since cut all ties with their family.
Asking what their relationship was like with their family before they won an eight-figure sum, the winner replied: "My family was always toxic and the relationship was always strained. I expected them to not be satisfied with the offer I made to them, but I didn’t expect a legal knife in the back."
While falling out with your family is never an easy situation, this person said that their mental health has 'improved exponentially' since becoming estranged from them.
And it wasn't just their family that tried to sponge off them, their friends did so too.
"I also approached a group of friends with a proposal to start a logistics consulting firm," they explained. "I offered my friends six-figure salaries, profit sharing and bonuses. They said no, but asked me for the cash instead."
Now the Redditor has changed their name and hasn't spoken to any of their family and friends since.
The jackpot winner went on to issue a stark warning in light of their own experiences.
They said: "The safest thing to do is to assume that everyone you tell is going to try to take your money from you."
Niamh Shackleton