self-help: Lottery win does not always breed success

By Khary K. McGhee Staff writer It’s not like Jack Whittaker needed the money. When the West Virginia businessman won a record $315 million jackpot in a Powerball lottery drawing in 2002, he already had a net worth of $1 million and owned a successful contracting business. But the $113 million lump-sum payment he took home after taxes certainly couldn’t hurt Whittaker and his family, could it? Actually, Whittaker’s newfound wealth could be seen as more of a curse than a blessing. Since winning the money, he’s had several brushes with the law and been robbed of $500,000. He’s also had personal tragedy. A friend of his granddaughter died of a drug overdose in his home. Not long afterward his 17-year-old granddaughter was found dead from a drug overdose. Troubles such as these aren’t what lottery ticket-buyers think about. But like the Notorious B.I.G. once said, sometimes more money equals more problems. RELATED Powerball attracts players How to play (PDF) “I wish it never happened,” said lottery winner William Post in an interview with bankrate.com. Post won $16.2 million in a 1988 Pennsylvania Lottery drawing. Now he lives on Social Security. The pressures that come with sudden wealth aren’t well known. But dealing with a quick flush of cash can be problematic. It’s so common that a cottage industry, which includes wealth managers and self-help books for the newly rich, has sprung up to help those who have suddenly come into a lot of money. There’s even something called the Sudden Money Institute in Florida.