“Cruel And Heartless”: Guy Refuses To Share White Elephant Gift Win With Greedy Family

Winning the lottery sounds great. Right? You can pay off your student loan, buy a home or set some money aside for the down payment, go traveling, or do many other fun and nice things.

But there’s two sides to this coin, as such winnings often entail things that are far from positive. Take this redditor’s story, for instance. After trading a gift during the White Elephant gift exchange with his family, the 22-year-old was left with some lottery tickets, one of which ended up adding $25,000 dollars into his bank account. But in addition to the money, the ticket also brought disagreements within the family, some of whom were calling the OP cruel and heartless. Scroll down to find the full story below.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of stories of lottery winners’ lives going downhill after encountering what many consider immense luck. Known as the “lottery curse,” the misfortune that sudden wealth can bring can come in all shapes and forms, from poor financial investments or even bankruptcy to broken relationships, often – among family members.

According to a financial consultant to lottery winners and the author of Life Lessons from the Lottery, Don McNay, many people wind up unhappy or broke after winning the lottery. In an interview with TIME, he shared that some winners have had terrible things happen to them, including running through their money, going through divorce, or even ending their lives.

“It’s just upheaval that they’re not ready for,” McNay told TIME. “It’s the curse of the lottery because it made their lives worse instead of improving them.”

According to Dr. Kevin Bennett, a teaching professor of psychology and the program coordinator for the Penn State Beaver psychology degree, there are three things that can significantly negatively affect a person’s life after a big win – personal emotional struggles, risk of exploitation, and relationship stress.

Talking about the first one in a piece for Psychology Today, Bennett noted that sudden, unexpected wealth can evoke feelings of guilt, paranoia, or anxiety related to their new financial status and to why they were the ones the (bad) luck was bestowed upon and not someone else. They might also experience negative emotions related to loss of motivation or purpose, as winning the lottery often entails leaving one’s job and routine that were previously there to help reach certain goals.

Moving on to the risk of exploitation, the psychology professor pointed out that making wise financial decisions can be overwhelming. If that wasn’t bad enough, lottery winners are also often flooded with interview requests, financial advice, unsolicited proposals, or people trying to take advantage of them, all of which can disrupt their personal lives and lead to some poor decisions.

Lastly, money can strain people’s relationships, be it with family, friends, or partners. According to Bennett, “disagreements may arise over financial matters, leading to conflicts and strained connections. It can be challenging to navigate these changes and maintain healthy relationships with those close to you.”

For the OP, the relationship with some family members became strained from day one of them learning about the young man’s winnings. Many of his kin—excluding his parents, his grandparents, two cousins, and his aunt—felt entitled to a share of his prize, and for some, $250 wasn’t enough.

Unfortunately, sometimes, it doesn’t even take winning the lottery for family relationships to suffer because of money-related matters. Take inheritance, for instance, that can drive a wedge between siblings, cousins, and any other relatives or loved ones; according to a LegalShield survey, as much as 58% of respondents have experienced the conflict or know someone who has, due to the absence of an estate plan, which could have solved the matter of dividing assets and spared the fighting between family members.

Romantic relationships are not immune to financial-related issues, either. According to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of BMO, roughly one in three coupled-up Americans view money as a source of conflict in their relationship.

While it might be difficult to keep it from your partner, when it comes to others, many people suggest refraining from sharing the information after winning a significant amount of money. (Even though, as the joke goes, “I might not tell, but there will be signs”.) Some people in the comments seconded the idea that it’s better to keep the news to themselves, while others focused more on assuring the OP that he wasn’t being a jerk in the situation.