Generous Marion Richardson is giving her family £12 million (US$21.5 million) of her £17 million (US$30.5 million) Euro Millions lottery jackpot - because she reckons she won too much.
A week after she scooped the jackpot Marion, 57, left, is handing £1.5 million (US$2.7 million) each to her three sons, two daughters, two brothers and sister. Yesterday the former hard-up post worker returned to her £45,000 Gateshead home after staying away following her win.
The jobless mother vowed to spend, spend, spend after becoming Britain's biggest single ticket winner. But after returning home yesterday Marion told friends the only way she could handle her huge windfall was to spread it about.
Next door neighbour Cheryl Thompson, 31, said: "She said 'It's just too much to win'. She'd have been happy with two or three million. It's very hard to go from having nothing to becoming a multi-millionairess overnight.
"Up to now she's been staying with friends and in hotels, too afraid to come home and be by herself. Now she wants to get back to some kind of normality. Marion is such a beautiful person. She's always put her family first."
And what a way to do it. Marion is handing £1.5 million to each of her three sons, two daughters, two brothers and only sister.
She has offered ex-husband Colin, 57, who has multiple sclerosis, a new house. But all her parents have asked for is...a new carpet.
A friend said: "Marion has done what she said she'd always do if she won the lottery. She's made her family millionaires. She has a heart of gold."
Marion, who lives in a £45,000 council house at Winlaton, Gateshead, won £16,752,144 on the EuroMillions lottery competition on Good Friday - the sixth biggest UK win.
At the time, the former post worker was so hard up she had seen her bank manager in a vain attempt to extend her overdraft.
Crying with joy, she vowed to indulge her wildest dreams, including a shopping spree in Beverly Hills. But already she was thinking of giving most of the cash away.
Her brother John , a security guard in his 40s, sister Norma McBlain, a bank clerk also in her 40s, and son Colin, 34, a financial worker, have all given up their jobs.
Elder brother Peter, 50, may also contemplate early retirement.
Daughter Kaye, 25, who lives with her mum, and son Paul, 39, are considering setting-up a hairdressing business.
Youngest son Scott, 32, a record company executive, and office manager daughter Julie, 37, need never work again. Parents Norman, 81, and Marion, 78, will probably stay in their home at Gateshead, especially if it is graced by that longed for new carpet.
Marion is also planning a family reunion to celebrate her win.
A friend said: "She's going to have a party once everything has settled down. She just needs to get her head round her new life."
Meanwhile the Gateshead newsagents who sold the winning ticket are enjoying bumper sales, with one couple making a 400-mile round trip from Worksop, Notts, to buy a "lucky" game.
Co-owner Vera Singh said: "Business is booming. We're so glad for Marion. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person."
Sounds like a generous lady. Too generous. US $21.5 million is not alot of money to split among so many people. The Money well will run dry quickly. All the relatives quiting their jobs is a bad sign. They'll be begging her for more and more money which just isn't there. My guess is this big hearted lady will be back in the poor house within a year.
If the relatives do the math after they all receive their £1.5M , the ex gets his house and the parents get new carpet (preferable in a new home), they'll know she only has about £2.0M left, so she won't be in much better shape than they are, that is if she didn't have to pay some taxes on those £17 millions winnings.
These days one million dollars is not alot of money. Think about it. 50 plus years of working before retirement. Thats 20 thousand per year. Far from living the high life and rubbing elbows with Donald Trump.
I wouldn't have given anyone that much. My feeling is if I don't deserve the money, then other people deserve it even less - at least I bought a ticket. The problem with giving such large amounts is that I believe it encourages people to quit their jobs and go on spending sprees, and after a few years the money is gone and they are begging more off you.
>These days one million dollars is not a lot of money.
It's not a lot over 20-25 years, but it's a lot to have it all in once place. If you have it all at once, you have the power of compound interest working for you, and you can rest easy while your money makes money - something you couldn't do if you needed the money to pay the bills over 20 years. If you were making just 3%, your million dollars would make $2500 the first month and go up from there.
Family members quitting their jobs is a very bad sign! Even though it's true that one or two million dollars will earn interest every month but who's to say that they will just let the money sit.
Some (not all) of them will indeed blow it and be back at her door begging for more.
>Family members quitting their jobs is a very bad sign! Even though it's true that one or two million dollars will earn interest every month but who's to say that they will just let the money sit.
I agree. Saving goes against the primal impulse to treat your windfall as "found/free" money and indulge in all those things you could never afford, telling yourself you've worked and suffered enough and deserve everything you want...and with your days free and unstructured, you have much more time to spend that money and get in trouble (ask Jack). Now I like to think I could handle it without going bananas, but who knows - I would probably be debating "What's first, Kauai or a cruise on the Norwegian fiords?" within 5 minutes of getting the money.
It was her dollar, for crying out loud. Let her spend it however she likes.I only wish I could read about more generous people like her.Yes she might end up broke somewhere down the line,but something tells me she's better off today than yesterday.
Talk about spreading the love! More power to her... Here in the states, you would be taxed into oblivion with such generosity...
I would definitely hook up my kids, If I won tonight's P.ball, Each would get a 3Million dollar trust for their 21st birthday, So we could see them enjoy it instead of having to wait until we are gone... Until then each would get a full-ride to any college in the country. As for the rest of the family, it would be paying off all of their bills (a nice way around the gift tax) and a gift of the max tax-free gift (10k to 11k)... with no debt, that 10k would pack more punch ;-)
The trust would go a long way to providing my wife and I with a worry-free life, including setting up a "trust salary" that would hook us up for the next 30 years (including contributions ot an IRA for after 30 years... prpoerty taxes...bills etc..) My spreadsheet is set up to take the actual cash value after taxes and divvy it up on a percentage basis... Right now the trust salary column could pay out $253,000 the first year and increase by 3% each year with a final payment of $651,496... all for $8,049,669. The "Gifts and charities" pool is currently at 3.5 million (more than the "toys" pool which will provide the Ferrari and the Seaplane ;-) )... It allows for a 1.7Million dollar estate and also 9mill in savings that would not even need to be touched (long term investments... low risk).
It sounds like a nice life, you should see the numbers when the JP is in the 200Mill range! Then the estate budget is almost 10 times as great and the kids would never need to work...
I think that with enough money it would be better to let your job go to someone who needs it.... start your own business... create jobs... I know if I won anything even in the 10 Million dollar range, I am DONE working for others... tonight's Powerball would hook up the lucky winner (if they take the cash option) with $35,475,414.65 ... how could anyone win that much and even consider working? Managing that wealth would become a full-time job in itself.
Sounds like a generous lady. Too generous. US $21.5 million is not alot of money to split among so many people. The Money well will run dry quickly. All the relatives quiting their jobs is a bad sign. They'll be begging her for more and more money which just isn't there. My guess is this big hearted lady will be back in the poor house within a year.
Chas
Chas,
If the relatives do the math after they all receive their £1.5M , the ex gets his house and the parents get new carpet (preferable in a new home), they'll know she only has about £2.0M left, so she won't be in much better shape than they are, that is if she didn't have to pay some taxes on those £17 millions winnings.
RJOh
RJOh:
The beauty of the UK Lottery (and by extension Euro Millions) is that jackpots are TAX FREE.
These days one million dollars is not alot of money. Think about it. 50 plus years of working before retirement. Thats 20 thousand per year. Far from living the high life and rubbing elbows with Donald Trump.
Chas
I wouldn't have given anyone that much. My feeling is if I don't deserve the money, then other people deserve it even less - at least I bought a ticket. The problem with giving such large amounts is that I believe it encourages people to quit their jobs and go on spending sprees, and after a few years the money is gone and they are begging more off you.
>These days one million dollars is not a lot of money.
It's not a lot over 20-25 years, but it's a lot to have it all in once place. If you have it all at once, you have the power of compound interest working for you, and you can rest easy while your money makes money - something you couldn't do if you needed the money to pay the bills over 20 years. If you were making just 3%, your million dollars would make $2500 the first month and go up from there.
This person will be broke in no time.
Family members quitting their jobs is a very bad sign! Even though it's true that one or two million dollars will earn interest every month but who's to say that they will just let the money sit.
Some (not all) of them will indeed blow it and be back at her door begging for more.
Trust me.
>Family members quitting their jobs is a very bad sign! Even though it's true that one or two million dollars will earn interest every month but who's to say that they will just let the money sit.
I agree. Saving goes against the primal impulse to treat your windfall as "found/free" money and indulge in all those things you could never afford, telling yourself you've worked and suffered enough and deserve everything you want...and with your days free and unstructured, you have much more time to spend that money and get in trouble (ask Jack). Now I like to think I could handle it without going bananas, but who knows - I would probably be debating "What's first, Kauai or a cruise on the Norwegian fiords?" within 5 minutes of getting the money.
I think she's just being generous to her family. I don't think she plans on pissing away the rest of her winnings.
It was her dollar, for crying out loud. Let her spend it however she likes.I only wish I could read about more generous people like her.Yes she might end up broke somewhere down the line,but something tells me she's better off today than yesterday.
Talk about spreading the love! More power to her... Here in the states, you would be taxed into oblivion with such generosity...
I would definitely hook up my kids, If I won tonight's P.ball, Each would get a 3Million dollar trust for their 21st birthday, So we could see them enjoy it instead of having to wait until we are gone... Until then each would get a full-ride to any college in the country. As for the rest of the family, it would be paying off all of their bills (a nice way around the gift tax) and a gift of the max tax-free gift (10k to 11k)... with no debt, that 10k would pack more punch ;-)
The trust would go a long way to providing my wife and I with a worry-free life, including setting up a "trust salary" that would hook us up for the next 30 years (including contributions ot an IRA for after 30 years... prpoerty taxes...bills etc..) My spreadsheet is set up to take the actual cash value after taxes and divvy it up on a percentage basis... Right now the trust salary column could pay out $253,000 the first year and increase by 3% each year with a final payment of $651,496... all for $8,049,669. The "Gifts and charities" pool is currently at 3.5 million (more than the "toys" pool which will provide the Ferrari and the Seaplane ;-) )... It allows for a 1.7Million dollar estate and also 9mill in savings that would not even need to be touched (long term investments... low risk).
It sounds like a nice life, you should see the numbers when the JP is in the 200Mill range! Then the estate budget is almost 10 times as great and the kids would never need to work...
I think that with enough money it would be better to let your job go to someone who needs it.... start your own business... create jobs... I know if I won anything even in the 10 Million dollar range, I am DONE working for others... tonight's Powerball would hook up the lucky winner (if they take the cash option) with $35,475,414.65 ... how could anyone win that much and even consider working? Managing that wealth would become a full-time job in itself.