The Biggest Winners Of The Lottery Who Somehow Lost Everything

Plenty of us dream about winning big time in the lottery. Sure, we might not enter every week, but we can still dream, right? Of course, the chances of walking away with the jackpot are slim to none, but some people have still experienced what it’s like to get their hands on the winning numbers.

That doesn’t mean it’s been smooth for everyone. Instead, the biggest winners of the lottery who somehow lost everything go to show that things don’t always work out the way we planned. That can be especially true when we don’t have a plan in place for when we finally get that money in our bank accounts.

Billy Bob Harrell Jr. described his win as the “worst thing that ever happened to me”

It can be easy to think that winning the lottery would be the best thing that could happen in our lives, but that was unfortunately far from the case for Billy Bob Harrell Jr. He won an astounding $31 million on the Texas Lotto in 1997 before deciding to take it as an annual payout of $1.24 million. Billy was broke at the time, but the win meant he could quit his job at Home Depot, take his family on vacation, buy luxurious items for his loved ones, and even donate to his church. Sadly, the income also attracted a lot of unwanted attention, with plenty conning Billy into bad investments and business deals. His money ran out, and Billy’s wife left him. Ultimately, he stated the epic win was “the worst thing that ever happened to me” before Billy took his own life in 1999.

It took five years for David Lee Edwards to burn through his winnings

Winning $27 million in the lottery is a huge moment for most people, with David Lee Edwards doing just that back in 2001. Sadly, the one-time payment meant he had everything he needed to send his life down the tubes. Although David hired a money manager who wanted him to invest the money wisely, the lotto winner wasn’t having any of it. Instead, he spent the years purchasing anything he could with his wife, Shawna. They bought a $90,000 Dodge Viper, a $200,000 Lamborghini Diablo, two houses in a Florida gated community, and a private jet, among other things. It wasn’t long before Shawna and David found themselves addicted to illegal substances, with the lottery funds helping to fuel their friends’ habits, too. Eventually, the couple lost everything, earning illnesses through their narcotics use and moving from a grand home to a storage unit. To make matters worse, Shawna left David and has spent the years in and out of prison, while David lost his life in 2013 at just 58 years old.

Alex Toth lost everything he won while gambling in Las Vegas

A $13 million lottery win would be big in any day and age, but it was huge for Alex Toth back in 1990. He and Rhoda, his wife, decided to take their winnings in installments, working out at around $666,6666 a year. Together, they instantly took to the high life, meeting several high-profile celebrities and traveling the world. Sadly, Alex also developed an addiction to gambling and moved to Las Vegas for three months, where he spent $1,000 a night on his hotel room alone. Here, he gambled everything away, while tax owed and being accused of fraud also caught up with the couple eventually. In 2008, 60-year-old Alex lost his life while still battling tax fraud charges up until he passed away.

Jeffrey Dampier lost his life after an affair gone wrong

Back in 1996, Jeffrey Dampier’s life changed forever - not that he knew how things would turn out. He and his wife at the time won a staggering $20 million on the Illinois Lottery, but a divorce shortly after meant Jeffrey instantly had to split his winnings 50/50. Of course, Jeffrey still had plenty left over when he met and married Crystal Jackson. The pair moved to Tampa Bay in Florida to be closer to Crystal’s family, where Jeffrey spent most of his time looking after the pair’s finances and buying lavish gifts for Crystal’s family. The problem? Jeffrey seemed to particularly like buying gifts for his new sister-in-law, Victoria, and it wasn’t long before they started having an affair. By 2005, everything changed again when Jeffrey went missing. It later turned out that Victoria and her boyfriend, Nathaniel Jackson, had ended Jeffrey’s life. Victoria’s other sister, Terri, was also at the scene of the crime, with Nathaniel and Victoria earning life in prison as a result.

The biggest winners of the lottery who somehow lost everything go to show just how the mighty can fall - and what some people will do to get their hands on the money themselves. While there are plenty of positives that come out of winning the lottery, it’s not always the sunshine and rainbows that people imagine.