When hospital porter John McGuinness won a £10 million (US$19.5 million) British National Lottery jackpot, he thought his good fortune would never end.
Eleven years later, he is deep in debt, looking for a job and applying for public housing.
Some say it's all because he accepted an invitation to join the board of a football (British soccer) club.
Thanks largely to a disastrous £4 million investment in the lowly Scottish side Livingston FC, McGuinness, 44, owes more than £2 million and is about to have his house repossessed.
The Royal Bank of Scotland last month won a court order to take possession of the £500,000 family home and the father of four has reportedly been declared bankrupt over a £35,000 debt owed for a Porsche sports car which has now been seized.
He is likely to be evicted following an appeal hearing in four weeks and meanwhile he is staying out of sight behind the gates of the converted schoolhouse in Larkhall, Lanarkshire.
The extraordinary story begins in January 1997 when McGuinness hit the £10 million jackpot while earning £150 a week and sleeping on his parents' floor.
He lavished more than £3 million on close members of his family and gave £750,000 to his ex-wife Hazel.
He swopped his battered old Vauxhall Astra for a £140,000 Ferrari Modena Spyder. Other cars followed and at one point he had six in the drive, including a Bentley, Mercedes, Jaguars and BMWs.
He snapped up a £500,000 seafront apartment in Majorca, went on Caribbean cruises, five-star ski trips and vacations around the world.
He also spent £200,000 on his wedding to Sandra in 2003.
But the offer to join the board of second division Livingston proved to be his downfall.
Although he helped the club reach the Scottish Premier League and win the league cup in 2004, success on the field was not mirrored financially and it crashed into administration.
McGuinness had used his personal fortune to guarantee club loans and they were called in.
With huge legal costs adding to his debts, he owes £2.1 million to the Royal Bank of Scotland and is said to have no money left.
Even his house will only pay off a fraction of the debts. Sandra's parents, who live in a small house on the site, are likely to be made homeless too.
McGuinness's cars and villa have had to go and expensive jewellery, including a Rolex watch, have been sold at cut-price rates.
He and his wife are preparing to go back to work — something that was unthinkable just over a decade ago, when they had the world at their feet.
Sandra, a former nurse, is said to have enrolled on a hairdressing course.
A friend said, "John has been devastated by what has happened. In no time at all, he's gone from millionaire to someone who's had his car repossessed.
"Sandra has an appointment with the local housing office to see if they can come up with [public housing].
"People might not like to think of John deserving a subsidised home, but his needs are as great as any other homeless person."
Commenting on his disastrous football investment three years ago, McGuinness said, "I probably was a bit naive and perhaps made a mistake but I got involved with the best possible intentions.
"I just want my life to get back to the way it was before — but minus the football.
"People see me and see a really quiet chap who might help people out. But I have learned a great deal from the experience, which I suppose is a positive thing to take out of it."
If his wife is a former nurse, why take a hairdressing course? Go back to nursing-it probably pays better.
I know when I read that I thought why not go back to being a nurse. It pays more.
Sounds like she's been out of the field 10 years. Maybe it's changed too much?? I dunno much about it.
Kinda feel sorry for these two, but it sounds like he didn't look into the investment much before he sunk 4 million into it. It's like he thought the money would never run out no matter how much he spent. Tsk tsk.
It's amazing to learn that some people just don't "live within the means", no matter how rich you get.
Some people never learn.
Now I see what the difference is between say wealthy businessperson and a lottery winner who becomes involved in business deals...if things turn sour for the businessperson like they did for Donald Trump, he has the ability to recreate that wealth by employing proven business systems. However, if a lottery winner makes ill-advised personal and business decisions, that person typically has no recourse to recreate that wealth has it was acquired largely as a matter of luck. And despite all the well-published cases of lottery winners blowing their fortunes, one would think current and future lottery winners would learn from the others' mistakes and not repeat them. Key mistakes not to make after winning the lottery are: 1) do not lend money to friends and relatives (even if you did so before, don't do it afterward); 2) do not get involved in business deals or make investments in things you really don't know the ins and outs about; 3) don't immediately start thinking how you're going to spend your windfall...there is no amount of money that cannot be spent in a short amount of time (just look at how our government spends trillions of dollars in a years time...last time I checked there has not even been a single single-winning ticket lottery jackpot that equalled a billion dollars); 4) do thoroughly educate yourself about any potential investment and business opportunities AND establish a TEAM of impartial advisors (a trusted law firm with experience in that area of law, an accountant, a business advisor like SCORE, etc.); 5) think long-term and not short-term...short-term thinking tends to center on spending whereas long-term thinking tends to focus on investment, growth, and preservation. So with that said, LORD please let me have a single winning ticket for the Mega Millions drawing tonight!!!
Personally, I love that shot of him wearing the Burger King crown.
One word could have saved his millions. That word is "NO"
$20 million within 10 years is pretty good. He was a good man from his spending habbits, he mostly used his money to help people. He should have took annuity payments instead taking the cash or used the cash to buy into anniuty. Turn $20 million cash into $40 million in annuity payments for 30 years and you set for life.
I like that what you're talking about 20 million to 40 million in annuity, dude where do these people come from they have poor management of money I am not the best but I worry about the end result.... so when I hit tonight 150 million can you give me some pointers in financial advice...
MKEN32
The guy is an idiot, plain and simple. How could he not see what was happening to him?
From what i understand Donald Trump has never had a personal bankruptcy but has had a business bankruptcy. Thats a big difference. It the difference between a lanlord who owns real estate as an LLC and one that owns it personally. In an LLC the liablitity is limited to the business.
And that goes exactly to proving my point...a business person utilizes all available business systems (including having the proper legal structure) to build wealth. Perhaps this lottery winner should have established appropriate legal structures before shelling out money on ventures he apparently did not know enough about.
God, why spend anything but interest. Jesus, when will they learn. I wouldn't even think about anything but interest. You don't have to have everything. I did enjoy that pool that idiot imported from Spain, complete with marble peasant women with fountains flowing from waterpots on their shoulders. I could die in a pool like that.
Easy come easy go!, It's always sad to see someone blow through a fortune like that! I hope that the next person to win a huge jackpot, learn from the people before them that blow through that type of money. Who needs six cars anyway? You can only drive one at a time. People need to remember that everything in life is temporary and that you can't take it with you. So why not make it last a lifetime. I can only hope that if I was to experience a jackpot win that I would be smart enough not to fall for any Bull****! So that being said I hope that it happens in my LIFETIME!
One word could have saved his millions. That word is "NO"
I'll echo the other words of wisdom.
Hit up the wealth management professionals, hire an attorney, invest a majority of it, and watch the interest pour in.
Good god. With a majority of it invested he would've been winning a lottery jackpot every damn year. ARGH. Why do people with no background in business invest in high-risk ventures? It just blows my mind.
another sad story of a lottery millionaire flat broke in a short period of time. this story is far more common than people think
it is. saw a show on history channel,or discovery,or msnbc about former lottery winners falling on hard times.the stories ranged
from being broke within 5 to ten years and some commiting murder to collect insurance money on a spouse,because they was
on the verge of financial ruin. the common theme of all of the stories was they just kept on spending more and more money. they
all had quit there jobs so they had no income comming in,and they all had made some bad investments.i can see buying a house
and a couple of cars and traveling.what i dont understand is why do people win say like 15 million after taxes and then go out and
pay about 5 million for a house.they should know that they still have to pay taxes,light bill,and heating bill if nothing else.those
3 bills alone are a killer on a house that expensive.
!!!!GREED AND SHOWING OFF!!! are the reasons
The Picture above is kind of funny though ... just look at him holding that big check and wearing the Burger King crown .. and that silly grin on his face... priceless. He might as well be carrying a sign that had read 'Homeless ...Please Help!' .. sigh... Best of luck to him and hope he can put his life together again.
He should have hooked up with this guy who won and learned how to invest his winnings... http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/20/magazines/fortune/lottery_winnings.fortune/index.htm
I noticed something. Most lottery winners who blow through their jackpot winnings are usually are males. Why is that?
Just yesterday my wife said if we ever win the lottery that she was going to control the money. After much debate. We decided to just spend the interest from the jackpot but she will be incontrol of the Jackpot and the interest is fair game. She is a banker.
Don't be fooled...women blow their winnings as well. It is just that many of them happen to not blow it ALL. Some of the men profiled as blowing their money had a lot of help from their spouse in blowing it (David Edwards, ect.). Plus, I think the media thinks it makes for a much better story to hear about the guys who blew their money than women who do so. The key to not blowing it is to establish a plan...an investment plan, a spending plan (i.e. budget...yes even millionaires and billionaires utilize budgets), and a safety net plan (meaning at what level will one stop all spending).
I disagree with those who say to just live off the interest...I would have a significant portion invested in a mix of stock and bond mutual funds, so I would actually live off some of the capital gains and dividends (BTW you happen to pay less in taxes on long-term capital gains than you would on dividends and interest). And by having it invested in that sort of mix, the likelihood of one turning several million into billions is far greater than say someone who puts the majority in CDs and such.
You got a point there.
ugh oh Jackpot
You made it too easy for me. LOL.
We all know that women handle finances much better than men. It's a given fact, proven for centuries. Okay I know the guys will respond with some killer posts, but its a fact. Its an unwritten rule in my house, the lottery budget will be handled by me. Tell you wife Kudos from Lottocalgal.
Your right omniscient..the last thing in the world is to walk down mainstreet with a big check in my hands and wearing a Burger King hat.
thanks for that cnn webpage .i've been looking for that for a few weeks now........
i went to the bank yesterday and ask them how much was the interest on 1 million dollars and the lady told me that you can only place the money for a period of 5 years maximum...I asked her if you could place the money for 20 years and she told me they could not...My question is, are all banks like this?can you place the money for 30 years let's say at a fixed earned interest....20 million dollars earned interest at .5% is like 1 million dollars annually....I don't know how much she might have after the tax...But i wouldn't mind making 600,000 a year for the rest of my life....But what goes on in the mind of this Britains...Why not move to the U.S or Canada where the money will go a long way....I don't get it...Living in Canada, U.S or England, i surely don't see a difference, is the same to me...
What, so you don't think the jackpot should be spent on 5 sports cars and construction of a full-sized home theater with 10,000 DVDs? Who said men aren't as good as women at handling finances?
The 5 year maximum applies to bank CDs. After 5 years, you could roll them over into new 5 year CDs at whatever the rate was at that point. 0.5% = 0.005, which on $20 million yields $100,000 per year.
If you want fixed interest rates for periods longer than 5 years, then you're looking at corporate bonds or gov't notes & bonds.
You've got to be kidding, right? If not, I have a real problem for you to solve then! Why in Gods name do each and everyone of you females have 20, 30 and some of you have 40 to 50 pairs of shoes for? I'll be damed if you could ever give a logical explanation for such an over indulgence! NO Man will ever except you even trying to explain such a thing. Because their could never be a satisfactory, (better yet) an rational explanation for such irrational behavior! NONE, ZILCH, NADA!
So, with that said, there could "never" be a woman better at handling any financial matters in a household better than a man! Take note guys! All women lie about how much they spend at the stores! What ever they tell you, you better add another 15 - 20% more to the total they tell you and then you're closer to the real ball park figure they really spent! And guys, that's just on the average!
AND THAT'S A FACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are right BaristaExpress about some women and spending. There are more women addicted to shopping than men. But men tend to spend more money on bigger items like wide screen TVs, cars, boats, riding lawn mowers etc. computers and tech toys.
No Tenaj, it's not about that at all........ It's about women lying about what they spent (it doesn't matter if they spent it on themselves or on the whole family) PERIOD! And That's A Fact!!!!!!!!!!
In the Lion Kingdom, females will often go out and hunt, bringing back the prey to the lone male. And of course he has his work cut out for him in terms of reproduction. Poor tired fella! Well, when we look at social conditions, economic conditions, trends, and of course alternative lifestyles etc. we may be gaining a view of reverse harems! It's not so hard to figure what to do! Well.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will this change abruptly, if at all? In process of time like everything else. Be like water, go with the flow!!!
Oh and I forgot that the media actually has covered women who blew millions they came into. I think one of the daytime talk shows had a few of the women who had lost a close family member in the 9/11 attacks and how some of them went on wild spending sprees and blew ALL of the money they had gotten from that Victims Fund (some blew the entire 1.5 million in addition to the proceeds they got from private life insurance, group insurance and their deceased spouse's 401k). So no gender is infallable when it comes to properly handling money.
No problem ... I thought it was a good article as well... had to share it. Hope it helps others re-think how they might handle a lottery win should it fall in their hands.
The thing that gets me about alot of these big winners is how much money they give away. I don't understand why people do this. If I win, I don't plan to do this. If anyone asks me for money, they aren't getting any, period. Alot of the people they give money to probably wouldn't give them $5 to buy a fast food lunch if they were broke.
The way I look at is if would these people want to be around me if I didn't have the money? That question needs to be asked by alot of people who have anything nice, whether it be a nice car, big house, inground swimming pool, money, etc., would these people who are hanging around now still be around if it's all gone? I find 95% of the time the answer is "NO."
Just my opinion.
what do you mean i don't get you..
i went to the bank and they told me that for 1 million dolllars i will get 41,000 dollars yearly at 4% interest rates...so if i have 20 million i will get 820,000 a year....plus the tax...I don't know where you get the 100,000 a year...
i often tell people i wont buy a house, or car ill own a car hjire company and property company. limited loability of course. then when some jhackass thinks " theres that multu mull;ion dollar lotto winner, ill bounce of his car and sue " well go ahead it aint my car.
just some company with limited ibnsurance, same as a bozo clinbing ya fence and getting hurt falling on ya spiked garden ornaments.
too bad pal i dont own the place in just leasing.
but well i do tend to be a bit paranoid
Sorry to burst your bubble.. but all women do not lie about what is spent at the stores. I don't and I am sure there are others too. I earn my own money, so it doesn't matter how many pairs of shoes I have. The shoes are only part of my outfits I wear to work. Women care about how they look when they leave the house. It wouldn't bother me if my husband had 20 pairs of shoes, as long as he looked nice.
My husband and I don't blow money. You wouldn't see us in the shape this couple is in after a huge win. We would continue to travel as usual before the win. We would continue to cook good food here at home. No fancier clothes than what we already wear. No new sports cars.
You never know until you win. Money changes people. I think it is best to get lots of professional advice before making a big buy. I like the idea of spending the interest only from a large jackpot.(mega cash 100,000,000 x .05 = 5 million. After taxes 3 millon. About 250,000 per month )
250,000
Get an allowance = $5000 per week - $20000 a month (me) and wife gets $7000 per week $28,000
$102,000 for household expenses.
Put the remaining 100,000 into another interest saving fund stort term ( 6 month CD ).
The mistake he made was going public with his win. The UK lottery allowed winners to remain anonymous, while they like winners to go public, it is good publicity for the lottery. I think winners are crazy to go public.
Sheesh...another moron blows it all. All he had to do was invest in a money market account @ 4.5%, which comes to 450k a year, which is 37.5k a month. Any bozo who can't live off almost 40k a month needs an ass whooping.