Man who won £23 million off 40p lottery ticket aged 21 experienced unexpected dark side
We all dream of winning the lottery but the reality isn't always as fun as it sounds.
While some people are left devastated after their winning ticket is 'thrown away' as one woman from the UK discovered earlier this year after winning £12 million, other people's struggles come after claiming the money.
You've probably all heard of the story of Michael Carroll, a bin man who blew his £10 million fortune in just eight years before returning to work, but it's not just those who p***ed away their millions who have experienced the dark side of a lottery win.
Timothy Schultz was working in a gas station back in 1999 when he decided to purchase a Powerball lottery ticket, and he almost instantly became £23 million richer after his numbers came in.
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Naturally, the news spread fast and while Schultz had the support of his close family and friends, it wasn't long before he started to see the darker side of his new life.
He noticed that soon he started to get a lot of messages asking for help, with many looking to cash in on his new fortune.
Speaking to Fox in 2022, he said: “Most people were supportive and happy for me, but I did receive stacks of letters from people asking for money.
"It felt like some people viewed me as a walking, talking ATM machine.”
Although he treated his friends to some new clothes as he looked to change his life around, he admitted that his friend circle has also shrank considerably over the years, as he began to question whether people wanted to get to know him for the right reasons.
Speaking to UNILAD, he added: “Lending money could quickly complicate even a close friendship", so naturally he wasn't about to do hand outs to people he didn't even know.
"It was incredible in many ways, but it could also feel isolating because no one around me was in the same position," he said.
Timothy's first purchase was actually a Nintendo 64, something he would have struggled to afford on his previous wages, as he's focused on living within his means for much of the past 20 years.
Although he had one regret of failing to invest in Bitcoin before that became massive, with others making millions through the online currency, Schultz has lived a happy life and now offers advice to other lottery winners via his YouTube channel Dreams & Fortune.
There, he interviews other lottery winners about how their lives have changed after claiming the prize, who he can obviously relate closely to, whereas he continues to struggle to trust new people in his life.
As for what he would say to his younger self all these years later, he added: “I’d probably start by saying, ‘Buckle up.’ That dream of winning is about to become reality, and your life is going to change faster than you can possibly imagine.”
James Moorhouse