Man Wins $22 Million In The Lottery, Does The Sensible Thing Of Telling No One

What would you do if you won 22 million dollars? Buy a new house or new car? Throw a big party for everyone you know? Quit your job and travel the world?

Well, John from Louisville, Kentucky [name and personal details changed] did none of those things. Instead, he decided to keep his win a secret from pretty much everyone he knows.

Why? Well, he called Dave Ramsey, a financial advisor and the host of The Ramsey Show, to explain it. Scroll down to find out all about it and read our chat on winning a lottery with Chloe Elise, money expert, author, and founder of financial literacy company Deeper than Money.

The caller: I won one of those multi-state lottery drawings with a group of coworkers. I haven't told anyone, uh, besides my wife and besides one sibling. No one knows.
Dave Ramsey: How much?
- After taxes, it was about 22 million.

- Holy c**p. Wow. How old are you?
- I'm edging up on about 50 years old.
- Okay.  And so you haven't told anyone, and I've got some guesses, but why?
- Well, the first thing I did when I found out that I won was research. And it said, you know, that you get to read all those 'one in five people lose their lottery winnings or go bankrupt within ten years.' And one of the things they all said was, you tell too many people and you get too many people at your door asking for this, that, and the other thing, asking for handouts. Expecting you to pay for everything.

So my wife and I made a conscious decision just to kind of keep it under wraps and it's kind of, we've kept keeping it under wraps. We haven't even told our two teenage children. And now I know that sounds strange, but we just don't want them to grow up to be waiters, you know, waiting for us to die so they can get our money.
- That's fantastic, man. I love it.  I'm okay with that.

- I want them to go figure out what they want to do in life and get going on the track.
- Go be somebody.
-  Then I'll let them know. I'm not gonna keep it from them forever, but like... Our parents, we haven't told any of them. We had another incident about a month after we won the lottery. Um, incident. I don't want to call it that. My wife's great uncle passed away shortly thereafter and he didn't have any kids and he was never married and he left most of his inheritance to my wife and her siblings. So we've been able to use that as like, our cover story for when we help people. Like 'I bought my mom a roof.' I know, really nice of me. How, you know, when she says 'how can you afford this' I just say 'oh, it's great uncle Bob's money, mom. He wanted us to do this.'

- Uncle Bob's money at least 2Xed now, that's great. Have you got a decent car?
- You're going to love me, Dave. My house was paid off before I won this. My wife and I really have no desire to move. We had just paid cash for two Toyotas before we won this. And we still have them. We're not looking to upgrade to anything. Perfectly fine cars.
- Okay. Are you still working?
- I am still working.
- Do you hate it?

- Isn't that ridiculous?
- No, it's not.

- Actually that's why I'm there. 'cause I kind of like my job.
- Good for you. I think you should keep working. Gotten some great investment advice?

- Yes. I have. I have a team. As you can imagine.
- You need a team. I like what you're doing, and it's not anyone else's business.

- Right, that's what I hope.
- And I don't think you're being like, 'hermit in a cave' weird, 'Unabomber' weird or something like that. I think you're just being wise because what you've discerned is that some of the people in your life could not handle the equation.

- Correct. That is a very good assumption on your part.
- And you're doing them a favor by not putting the strain on them, including teenagers.

When asked about the best way to handle winning a lottery, Chloe Elise pretty much agrees with how “John” has handled it. “Personally, I would try to live my life as similarly as if I did before coming into wealth.”

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share your winnings or keep your fortune a secret, though. Elise believes that one could be open to giving as long as there are healthy boundaries and expectations from both sides. One can help out but should not be financially enabling someone.

Elise also points out that one shouldn’t rely on the miniscule chance of winning a lottery to achieve their financial goals. There are ways to manage your money that allows you to both enjoy the everyday pleasures and have a secure future. It seems like that is what “John” did, and he sounds perfectly at ease with his financial decisions.

Elise also agrees that one needs a team of professionals to help with such big sums of money. “Personal finance is personal,” she emphasizes and notes that there’s no single one-fits-all approach to handling a lottery win, and it all depends on your wishes and desires for the future. “If anyone who doesn’t know your financial goals and priorities tries to tell you how much to invest vs. keep in cash… don’t listen.”

All in all, Elise encourages everyone to work on your relationship with money before buying a lottery ticket. Sort out your habits, beliefs and values, and once you do get lucky, you, just like John, will be secure about handling such a big responsibility.

“Remember that money is just an amplifier,” says Elise. “As a resource, money allows us to amplify what's inside of us. If you’re living a life filled with stress, guilt, shame, anxiety, selfishness, scarcity, and even trauma around money… Money is not going to fix those problems. Instead, it’s just going to amplify who you were before.”