Colin Weir, a Scotsman who in 2011 won 161 million pounds (about 257.6 million dollars) in one of the biggest prizes in the EuroMillions
European lottery
, had spent most of his fortune before he died in 2019.
Originally from North Ayrshire, Scotland, Weir died aged 71 from sepsis and "acute kidney injury", but by then he had squandered most of his prize money at a
rate of spending £100,000 a week
(about 131,900 dollars) in luxury items and investments, according to the British newspaper The Independent.
Weir and his wife, Christine, divided the fortune after divorcing in 2018. At that time, he was left with about 66 million pounds (about 81 million dollars) of which, before he died, he
had already spent 40 million (approximately 50 million dollars)
.
The rest of him was inherited by his two sons.
Colin and Christine Weir after winning one of the biggest European lottery prizes, EuroMillions, in 2011. Andrew Milligan - PA Images / PA Images via Getty Images
After becoming a millionaire, Weir invested much of his money: he bought 55% of the shares of the
Partick Thistle
football team in Glasgow, he frequently bet on racehorses and founded a charitable organization he called the Weir Charitable. Trust.
Weir donated some of his money to charities, though it's unclear which or how much.
He also spent a hefty sum to pay off a team debt in 2015, funded the club's youth academy and ended up selling his shares to a group of fans, according to Scotland's Daily Record newspaper.
Colin and Christine Weir split their fortune after their divorce in 2018. Andrew Milligan - PA Images / PA Images via Getty Images
After winning the lottery, Weir and his then-wife bought a 3.5 million-pound (about $5.75 million) mansion and spent thousands renovating it.
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According to the British media The Sun, Weir had a portfolio of shares of 12 million pounds that included almost 20,000 pounds in the French multinational Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and in the supermarket giant Tesco.
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His luxury possessions included vehicles, furniture, jewelry, and works of art.
Before he died, he organized a party in which he spent a million pounds "so that his friends and family would remember him," the British media reported.
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The guests enjoyed lobster, champagne worth £340 a bottle and truffle soup for which Weir paid £40 each, according to The Sun.
After their divorce, Weir moved into a beachfront house valued at 1.1 million pounds (about $1.3 million), where he lived until his death.
The only prize in the history of the
EuroMillions
that has been greater than the one he won
Weir
in 2011 it was distributed in 2019 and it was 193 million pounds (approximately 231 million dollars).