Why on earth would you go public?

[Clitheroekid]

Yet another massive lottery win, but I noticed this one as it relates to some local people - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-68353968

But, as is always the case, my first feelings were not of vicarious joy, but a sinking feeling that this would probably be the beginning of the end. Every gigantic lottery winner like this that goes public seems to be inevitably accompanied a couple of years later by tales of divorce, infidelity, drugs or whatever.

I'm at a complete loss to understand why anybody who wins vast amounts of money is so keen to publicise it. They can’t possibly gain any personal benefit, and they're hardly likely to be doing so for any financial incentive. It seems to me that all they are doing is advertising themselves to the scrounging classes and, far worse, the criminal classes as ripe for plucking.

The mere fact that they are dumb enough to indulge in such publicity is a strong indicator that they will have very little hope of coping with such a ridiculously large amount of money.

The lottery promoters piously profess to care for the well being of mega-winners, but if they did then they would surely advise them to keep quiet. It seems clear to me that they have allowed their commercial interests to override their duty of care to their customers.

They seem a pleasant couple, and I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but the omens are not good.

[UncleEbenezer]

I'm at a complete loss to understand why anybody who wins vast amounts of money is so keen to publicise it. They can’t possibly gain any personal benefit.

Tell that to some of our recent Prime Ministers. I have in mind the two greatest Liars among them, especially the more recent of those. To a chap who seeks to father brats on as many women as possible, the money is the ideal magnet! To take but one (perhaps extreme) example of what motivates those with more than a lifetime's needs.

I'll never have to decide whether to go public or consider other "if I won ..." questions. Might you?

[terminal7]

Yet another massive lottery win, but I noticed this one as it relates to some local people - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-68353968

The lottery promoters piously profess to care for the well being of mega-winners, but if they did then they would surely advise them to keep quiet. It seems clear to me that they have allowed their commercial interests to override their duty of care to their customers.

CK - I sat at my computer for a few moments and thought what I could do with such a windfall - though never going to happen as never do the Lottery. However thousands will read this in their usual rags and either start to buy tickets or increase their existing expenditure on tickets. Reading that Mr and Mrs X has won offers little traction - looking at a picture of someone like your neighbours spraying champagne immediately translates into 'it could be me'. Duty of care by the promoters - - only thing that really matters is how to increase the bottom line.

T7

[Niksen]

I'm at a complete loss to understand why anybody who wins vast amounts of money is so keen to publicise it.

Damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

If they hadn't gone public then the 'chip paper' media would have been trying to find out who had won, and unless they said nothing to anyone and just disappeared then undoubtably someone they worked with, drank with, was family with, etc. would have sold the their names to the media. Then as the media had been put to the effort of finding them, I suspect that the media would want to put a slant on why the couple had not gone public.

Perhaps a smarter approach is simply to say to family, friends, and work colleagues that you have won the lottery but say it was a much much smaller amount, perhaps a few hundred thousand. Sufficient that people would understand why you had ceased working and sold up in the UK to move overseas, and not enough to interest the media in printing a story. Sure you would have to maintain the pretence with anyone you remained in contact with, but creating that pretence wouldn't put much of a dent in £61m, it would just take willpower.

[Rhyd6]

Funnily enough we were discussing winning a massive amount on the lottery at our Community Cafe the other morning when someone announced they'd won the princely sum of £4.80. Without exception we all agreed that there should be a maximum sum of £10 million, still a considerable sum and the rest in £1 million and smaller prizes. It would make a hell of a lot of difference to many more people without the inevitable backlash from family and friends expecting a share.

R6

[scrumpyjack]

I agree it is a very bad decision to let it be known you have won a huge amount. It is probably impractical for winners to hide the fact that they have won a substantial sum because friends and relatives will notice when they buy new cars/houses, stop work etc etc. This is probably one reason why the Lottery tells them it is best not to hide it. But that is motivated by their wish for publicity. For the winner, it would be better simply to let relatives know they have had a good windfall, but NEVER mention any figures. I never do the Lottery and the largest premium bond prize is not in the same league! If I won that, I would just give it to the grandchildren.

[SalvorHardin]

From my experience with a smaller equivalent of a lottery win (small oil shares in the early 2000s), it was easy to conceal my early retirement by becoming a "consultant" who worked from home.

My being an Actuary (and having worked in The City) helped greatly because most people haven't the foggiest idea as to what Actuaries do. When I started to explain (emphasising mortality and morbidity calculations), they quickly switched off (and avoided the topic in the future).

It would have been a lot more difficult to maintain my cover had I been someone who bought lots of expensive goods, flashy cars, etc.

I remember someone saying about a case they had heard of, where a big lottery win was disguised by the winner getting a new job as the caretaker of a big house (with quite a bit of land), looking after it for the "owner" who mostly lived abroad and had bought it as an investment.

Friends and relatives with dodgy business plans are a great way for lottery winners to blow the lot.

[Lootman]

Funnily enough we were discussing winning a massive amount on the lottery at our Community Cafe the other morning when someone announced they'd won the princely sum of £4.80. Without exception we all agreed that there should be a maximum sum of £10 million, still a considerable sum and the rest in £1 million and smaller prizes. It would make a hell of a lot of difference to many more people without the inevitable backlash from family and friends expecting a share.

You might think so but lottery ticket sales go up when the prize is obscenely high. So whilst a larger number of smaller prizes is logically more desirable, in practice people prefer a smaller shot at a larger prize. Put another way, people don't just want to be rich; they want to be filthy disgustingly rich.

From my experience with a smaller equivalent of a lottery win (small oil shares in the early 2000s), it was easy to conceal my early retirement by becoming a "consultant" who worked from home.

Yeah, I don't think I retired quite as young as you but it was before any of my peers. Mostly funded by stock options, property investments and an inheritance.

I did not want to make a big deal out of it, and would generally fend off questions with generic responses about "working from home". Or if it was someone I had just met I would say "portfolio manager" or "property manager", both of which were true, sort of.

[DrFfybes]

Without exception we all agreed that there should be a maximum sum of £10 million, still a considerable sum and the rest in £1 million and smaller prizes. It would make a hell of a lot of difference to many more people without the inevitable backlash from family and friends expecting a share.

I disagree - the Lottery should be a stupid amount of money. Premium Bonds I think should be skewed down more towards the lower prizes, as that is more of a Savings Account than a gamble, but the idea of the Lottery is to win BIG.

I can see a point in a more even spread, where getting one number wrong gets you 10% of the big prize rather than 1 or 2%, but in the grand scheme of things £10m is pretty easy to spend, especially if you want to keep some behind to generate an income. Personally £30m or so would probably allow us to do what we want, charities, local projects, hobbies and interests, family and friends, and still leave enough to generate an excessive post tax income.

We wouldn't go public with it though, perhaps tell family and a few friends, but certainly nobody who knows our builder

Paul

[Gerry557]

I wouldn't go public and hopefully the lottery wouldn't tell the wife either

I remember discussing the big one with a work syndicate and I was looked at funny when I said I would buy a new bike to come to work It was actually how I felt at the time as I was comfortable and happy. I suppose bigger or newer stuff might have been bought but wasn't really needed.

I wish them the best, hopefully after 30 years they might be able to better withstand the pressure of a big win. Most don't. I do wonder if a smaller amount might work better for me. Still I might be able to give it away but how to do it responsibly. Don't want to be accused of ruining someone's life because they bought a powerful motor bike/car and wrapped themselves around a lamppost.

I might be on here asking about IHT and how to stop the tax man. That British ISA idea might work cos it's going to take a while to get that amount in the ISA. Knowing my luck I'd buy a load of Premium bonds and then win that too.

Some want to show off and I think others are pressured into going public as it's good for lottery sales.

[Hypster]

I was told by a bloke down the pub that if you agree to go public, the lottery organizer provides a financial advisor to help with what to do with the money and perhaps other experts to help deal with the life changing event. If you don’t agree to go public you just get the money and you’re on your own. I don’t know if it’s true or not.

[Niksen]

I don’t know if it’s true or not.

Urban myth - http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/life- ... sor-carter

“If the winners wanted anonymity instead of going public, would you still advise them?

Absolutely yes. It’s entirely the winner’s decision if they want to share news of their win. We have an aftercare programme in place to ensure that all winners have access to legal and financial advice.

It’s often the case that when a winner decides to remain anonymous, we are the only people that know about their win so we keep in touch with them for as long as they want to. Often they like to talk to someone or just let us know what they have been up to.”

[Midsmartin]

I like to think that if I won £100 million, I would keep £1 million, and use £99 million for charitable purposes.

But would I?

[Lootman]

I like to think that if I won £100 million, I would keep £1 million, and use £99 million for charitable purposes.

But would I?

I presume that you'd pay close to £45,000,000 in tax, netting £55,000,000. If you were going to give some to charity then do it in the year of receipt to offset that punitive tax bill.

I would probably invest most of it, since that is what I do anyway. Probably offshore myself. But be modest in terms of indulgence. Except that I would like to always fly private - I have never done that.

[Watis]

I like to think that if I won £100 million, I would keep £1 million, and use £99 million for charitable purposes.

But would I?

I presume that you'd pay close to £45,000,000 in tax, netting £55,000,000. If you were going to give some to charity then do it in the year of receipt to offset that punitive tax bill.

I would probably invest most of it, since that is what I do anyway. Probably offshore myself. But be modest in terms of indulgence. Except that I would like to always fly private - I have never done that.

No - lottery prizes are tax free in the UK.

Watis

[Gerry557]

I like to think that if I won £100 million, I would keep £1 million, and use £99 million for charitable purposes.

But would I?

A million isn't that much these days and depending on your situation and what part of the country you live in, a million pound house isn't that fantastic and might even need doing up.

Even if you could get tax free income it would be approx £50k so not a luxury lifestyle.

I think you should keep 10 one for you and nine for her

[bungeejumper]

I was told by a bloke down the pub that if you agree to go public, the lottery organizer provides a financial advisor to help with what to do with the money and perhaps other experts to help deal with the life changing event. If you don’t agree to go public you just get the money and you’re on your own. I don’t know if it’s true or not.

I think the offer of financial advice used to be standard practice at the National Lottery, if not actually mandatory. Don't know about other lotteries, though.

I once interviewed a financial advisor whose company specialised in helping big lottery winners, as well as those unfortunate people who come into big insurance money as a result of nasty industrial injuries. It's quite a big moral responsibility when a sizeable proportion of your clients are innumerate, maybe semi-literate, and have never had any experience of forward budgeting, never mind investing tens of millions. From memory, the FCA takes a special interest in these providers, and a good thing too.

BJ

[gryffron]

I would like to always fly private - I have never done that.

I'm sure you could afford to try it. Hiring a private jet isn't nearly as expensive as you might think. Maybe £10k for a European trip. Even less if you can hop on someone else's empty return flight.

lottery prizes are tax free in the UK.

All gambling winnings are tax free in the UK.

In the case of the National Lottery, the govt takes its tax out of ticket sales, so HMRC always win.

Gryff

[brightncheerful]

if some winners didn't go public then those of us that don't would'nt believe it's possible to win big.

[XFool]

if some winners didn't go public then those of us that don't would'nt believe it's possible to win big.

I'm feel there must be a non seqitur in there somewhere...