$10M lottery winner squanders fortune
Posted: 4/14/2008 11:24:01 AM
He does odd jobs to make ends meet, claims welfare benefits, and lives in a £15 (US $30) a night guest house.
It's hard to believe that just three years ago, ex-British soldier Peter Kyle hit the lottery jackpot of £5.1 million (US$10.1 million).
Today, the 55-year-old divorcée has squandered all his winnings and is virtually destitute, reported The Daily Mail. It is claimed he also owes money.
A source told The Daily Mail that Kyle lost his money after making a string of ill-advised investments.
He now lives in a budget guest house where he earns his board and lodging by doing odd jobs for the owner.
The source said, "He had a golden opportunity to turn his life around — and then blew it. He took some bad advice from bad people and handed his money over too readily to them.
"Now he's got nothing and even owes cash."
Kyle won his fortune in February 2005 and splurged on a £550,000 house, a £40,000 Mercedes, a £40,000 Range Rover and another vehicle. He also gave money to his two children, aged 23 and 14.
Kyle has refused to talk to the British media.
These days, the former Royal Artillery gunner calls a £15-per-night guest house in his hometown of Plymouth home. It is next to a sex shop and opposite a tattoo parlor.
"Pete has been working at the hotel for a few months just to get by. He has his own room, marked private, and he spends a lot of time there.," an acquaintance said.
"He shuffles around and cooks breakfast for the punters and is a general dogsbody for the owner."
Reports say Kyle has been claiming benefits for several months, and in January, an anonymous creditor secured a county court injunction against him in Northampton for £590.
The huge house he used to own on the outskirts of Plymouth has been repossessed, say neighbors.
The current owner is believed to be a builder who did work for Kyle on the property but was not paid — and later negotiated a deal to buy it.
But some ex-neighbors of Kyle believe he got his just desserts.
Moira Johnson, 50, said, "Some people do get what they deserve — he really is a nasty piece of work. I had a run-in with him once when a friend of mine was stuck and I needed to take them a car battery charger.
"I knocked on his door and he started screaming blue murder at me right in my face, calling me every name under the sun. His language was appalling. No one liked him around here and everybody had had some run-in with him at some stage. We were very glad when he left."
Kyle has also been accused of refusing to give financial support to four of his siblings. They suffer from Huntington's disease, a rare genetic disorder which attacks the neurological system.
His ex-neighbors also described him as an arrogant spendthrift when he first won the lottery.
"He was very into his flashy cars," said one neighbor.
"This is a narrow private road and normally neighbors wait and let each other pass, but he would always barge down and force you to reverse. He was arrogant and foul-mouthed — not a very nice man at all.
"I sensed he was a bit of a loner, though. There weren't many visitors and I think he was single.
"It doesn't surprise me that he has lost his money, because he did a ridiculous amount of pointless building work and drove top-of-the-range cars. We never mixed with him at all."
Source: Electric New Paper
