The Powerball
Lottery, which last month had its largest jackpot in history of $587.6 million,
has been going for a couple of weeks now and has seen a few winners in Missouri,
Ohio and most recently Arizona. The man who won is staying anonymous for now
but his name is planned to be released to news organizations on Monday.
The man from
Arizona has chosen to take his winnings in cash, $192.5 million before taxes.
He also said that he plans to keep his job despite winning the lottery, stating
to an Arizona executive lottery director, “You know, I like my job; I'd like to
continue working my job,” and that it is "just a regular job, like yours
or mine -- it's not a high-level job."
The winner’s earning will
have a 5% tax on the prize money and Arizona’s state taxes will also apply,
making the winnings approximately $114 million after taxes. Most people who buy lottery tickets don't even end up winning, and those who do will essentially be known by every major news company and won't win as much as is really advertised. In your opinion, does winning the lottery significantly change anything about a person's life? Should it?
8 comments:
Most certainly. The lottery changes a lot of aspects of life in many people who happen to win large sums of money in state lottery drawings. This story just happens to be an example of one person who chose not to let the money change his life in every aspect. He seems like he enjoyed his job and its routine, but also the extra money part too. As in the TV show, "The Lottery Changed My Life" many of the spotlighted people buy up new houses, cars, items, friends. Many do good stuff with their money while others may not. The lottery can and will change your life if you are lucky enough to win one. I feel like you can try to achieve some normality, but in the end, you are 190 million dollars richer and have many more options as to where to spend it.
I think it depends on the person. If a person just saves the money and keeps his life the same, like the man who just won, it won't really change his life except that he maybe won't have to worry so much about money problems. But if a person uses the money he won right away and buys a mansion or a flashy new car, it will obviously change his life as he has a new perspective. I agree with George that a person's life may not change his life in every aspect. Some people will help others and keep very little for themselves or spend it all for themselves. It just depends on the type of person to win.
I am very impressed with this Arizona man's response to winning the lottery, in that he decided to keep working, though he does not need to. Many lottery-winners end up going broke after they win, because they engage in ridiculous new spending habits (why not buy 10 jets?!) or suffer from a gambling addiction. The same is true of many professional athletes: their spending goes out of control, and when they run out of money... what's next? However, this is not what happens to everyone, as seen in this case.
From reading the article about the anonymous winner, he seems like a logical man who is trying to avoid the trap of running into financial problems. His wife and him even "assembled a legal and financial team to guide them through the process." I'm not well-versed on the norms of lottery-winners, but this man seems to be very cautious and thoughtful about not wasting his winnings.
If this man's identity is revealed, I'm curious to learn more about his character. Is he wealthy already? Experienced in dealing with assets? We shall soon find out.
(read this article for more information about lottery-winners losing their money http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/mega-millions-lottery-bankrupt_n_1392414.html)
Similar to George, I think the lottery can drastically change your life. However, not necessarily for the better. As mention by Carly, most people that win the lottery don't know how to deal with the substantial gain in money. This can often lead to problems such as gambling. There are those few people who know how to deal with large sums of money and will handle lottery money responsibly. However, the majority don't.
I agree with the comments regarding those who are maybe not well equipped to handle such large amounts of money. For example, when my brother was 10, if you gave him $190 million, there would be an overwhelmingly good chance he would've tried to buy Legoland and build a candy store in our house. Additionally, if you give a gambler $190 million, good luck every seeing that money again. I think these scenarios are similar to how those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse would react to such winnings. I believe that some people are not fit to win $190 million all at once. However, just because some people cannot handle the overwhelming amounts of money, that is not to say there are people who would surely benefit from such winnings. I think the money should be handled responsibly, but we live in America and if a man wants to buy $190 million worth of casino chips and blow them at a Casino on an American Indian Reservation he has every right to do so.
I think winning the lottery will significantly change anyone's life. I find it impossible for someone to simply put their newly won 190 million dollars in a small account and continue with their daily routines. With such a fortune comes great financial security and I think this will cause one to change mentally no doubt. I feel as though this man's life will change significantly. If not, he is simply amazing.
I feel that peoples live's definitely change if they win the lottery. If this man truly keeps his life the way he intends I definitely applaud him, but he has the right to choose what he wants to do with his money. Something that came to my mind is even if one's life does not necessarily "change" from winning the lottery, I feel that their mental state of mind would change, at least a little. After winning the lottery, I feel that one would definitely feel more secure about their financial situation, which would make them more comfortable in life. However, I definitely agree that some people lives do not always change for the better after winning the lottery. It really all depends on the person.
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