How to spend $150m
Top Lotto winners reveal how they spent life-changing prizemoney
MORE than half of Australia’s big Lotto winners give some of their windfall to friends and family, one third buy a new car and only 15 per cent retire.
These figures were released after The Lott surveyed 100 division-one winners about how they spent their prizemoney.
Just over half paid off their mortgage and 10.2 per cent paid paid off their family or friends’ mortgages.
The survey was designed to provoke Lotto players to think about their future ahead of tomorrow’s record-breaking $150 million Powerball prize.
The Lott spokeswoman Ally Ramsamy said half of all Australian adults would enter tomorrow’s draw.
She said players contemplating what they would do with all that money could draw inspiration from past winners.
“Each year, we crown about 400 division-one winners across our lottery games. Many of these only discover their good fortune after we make contact with them and break that life-changing news,” she said.
“Many are stunned by the revelation and describe that winning feeling as one of complete and utter disbelief.”
From a spur-of-the-moment trip to Bali to a quiet family barbecue, Ms Ramsamy said Australian division-one winners celebrated their wins in all sorts of ways.
About 72 per cent of division one winners shared their winning news with their partner and immediate family.
Just over one quarter, 27 per cent, told their close friends.
Only a few winners, about 4.8 per cent, told no one.
Most division-one winners said they savoured the “peace of mind” and “financial freedom” that the win gave them.
“The first thing the majority of our winners do is buy a new house debt-free or pay off the mortgage, Ms Ramsamy said
“They just can’t wait to get that weight off their shoulders. After that, investing for the future, helping family and friends, and upgrading the car are at the top,” she said.
“Interestingly, when we asked winners how many people they thought had directly benefited from their windfall, such as through gifts to family and friends, the average was nine people.”
In the 12 months to 30 June 2019, 10 Powerball division one winners pocketed more than $398.5 million.
The biggest individual prize was $107,575,649, won by a Sydney healthcare worker.