He won over 300 million in the lottery, and yet Jack Whittaker is not lucky.
West Virginia – The story of lottery winner Jack Whittaker sounds like a modern day drama.
And as befits this genre, the classic themes are also present: money, greed, fraud and death.
But what happened to him isn't fiction, it's the bitter truth that ultimately led the winner of a whopping $315 million to conclude, "I wish I'd torn up the lottery ticket."
Man wins record-breaking jackpot in the lottery: But then his lucky streak disappears
But one after anonther.
On Christmas morning in 2002, Jack Whittaker, an American businessman with a construction company, woke up with a present under the tree that was destined to eclipse all those to come.
He had won the Powerball and with it 315 million dollars, the equivalent of about 290 million euros.
In contrast, the lottery win that a young woman from Great Britain missed is almost trivial.
Highest winnings in Powerball in the USA | |
|---|---|
$2.04 billion | November 7, 2022 |
$1.5864 billion | January 13, 2016 |
$768.8 million | March 27, 2019\t |
Abc
News
reports that Whittaker and his wife Jewel, along with their granddaughter, have appeared on eight TV shows to tell their lottery story.
The Christmas fairy tale enchanted an audience of millions at the time.
But the luck didn't last.
He had noble goals.
Lottery winner gets jackpot of almost 300 million dollars - and has noble goals
"I wanted to build churches," he said, according to the broadcaster.
“I wanted to provide food to people who had nothing to eat.
I wanted to get clothes for children who needed clothes”.
His promises did not fall on deaf ears.
Within a very short time, more and more people seeking help contacted him, and he set up a foundation to meet the many requests.
He hires the lottery shop clerk who sold him his lucky ticket.
She told
ABC News
about the many letters that were reaching the foundation.
"People who want new carpets, people who want entertainment systems, people who want lobsters, people who want houses -- just absolutely bizarre things," she said.
But it didn't stop with letters.
Winning the lottery leads to a wave of petitions
As the lottery winner describes, he and his family could no longer experience normal everyday life.
Wherever they went, they were soon surrounded by a crowd of people making their requests.
And it wasn't just requests.
"Since I won the lottery, over 400 lawsuits have been filed against me or one of my companies," Whittaker said.
When asked why that is, Whittaker replied that it's because "everybody wants something that's free."
The stress eventually led the lottery winner to seek refuge in alcohol,
Abc News
reports .
He no longer let anyone near him, went to strip clubs, was robbed and lost many of his closest friends.
He gambled away a lot of money, reports the
New York Post
.
Fate for lottery winners: granddaughter is found dead
His granddaughter also faced problems.
Lots of money attracted lots of false friends.
She became bitter and came into contact with drugs.
"She doesn't want to be in charge of the money, she doesn't want to inherit the money, she's just looking for the next drugs," Whittaker said.
"She said, 'Grandpa' all I care about is drugs.
It broke my heart,” reported the unlucky lottery winner.
In 2004, two years after winning the lottery, the unthinkable happened.
Whittaker's granddaughter disappeared.
Her body was found after a two-week search.
The cause of death was noted as unknown,
Abc News
reports .
NBC
News
refers to the granddaughter's boyfriend's father as saying it was an overdose.
For Whittaker it was clear: "My granddaughter died because of the money."
Lottery winner on the ground: "I wish I had torn the bill"
"Ever since I won the lottery, I've believed that greed is uncontrollable," he said.
"I think when you have something, there's always someone who wants it.
I wish I ripped up the lottery ticket," he explained, according to
ABC News
.
Another lottery winner also regretted her fate afterwards.
But not enough of the misfortune.
A few years later, in 2016, his house burned down.
According to
Metro News West Virginia
, he told reporters at the scene that he had no insurance on his home.
Finally in 2020, the hapless lottery winner passed away at the age of 72.
According to the
WSAZ Newschannel
, the obituary said he had succumbed to a long illness.
(slo)
