A lottery winner has explained what it’s like to win millions and the biggest problem he’s faced as a result.
Almost everyone dreams of scooping the jackpot, and you can’t help but think about what you would spend all that money on.
Would you give everyone you love some money? Would you travel the world? Or would you invest it in property, land, or stocks?
Experiencing that life-changing money will undoubtedly change you, for better or for worse.
One person who knows first-hand what it feels like is Timothy Schultz, who won $29 million in the lottery in 1999 while he was a student.
In line with current inflation, his winnings would equate to $51 million.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, he explained how it feels to win the lottery.
Schultz said: “When you win the lottery, the exhilaration is through the roof; it’s one of the most potentially life-altering things that can happen.
“One minute you have one life, and the next your world is turned on its head.
“The euphoria is real, but it eventually subsides.”
While money can help remove any financial difficulties, Schultz said winning the lottery does not necessarily create happiness.
He added: “Money doesn’t change who you are as a person. If you were unhappy before, you might be unhappy after.
“There are some very wealthy people in the world who are extremely unhappy. Money can be positive, but it doesn’t necessarily fix all problems.”
Schultz currently has a YouTube channel where he talks about his experiences of winning the lottery, along with interviewing other people who have won the lottery.
After he won the lottery, Schultz said that, while most people were normal with him, he did have people come up to him asking for money.
In one of his videos, he explained that people started to look ‘at him as a bank’ and he would receive ‘stacks of letters’ of people asking for financial help.
In his interview with Fox, he continued: “Most people were supportive and happy for me, but I did receive stacks of letters from people asking for money.
“It was difficult to trust new people — that they didn’t want me for the wrong reasons. It felt like some people viewed me as a walking, talking ATM machine.”
He did note that he did help people that he wanted to, but he also learnt to understand ‘what he can afford’.
“People often consider the odds of winning the lottery, but what about the odds of even being alive in the first place?” he added.
In his YouTube video, he also advised that winning the lottery can magnify your personality, which is why he believes ‘it is important to be grounded’.
“If you win the lottery, it doesn’t necessarily change you, but it can make you a larger version of yourself.
“If you’re into sports cars, for example, you might go out and buy a whole garage of sports cars.
“I think it’s important to pursue what makes you happy.
“For me, I needed a purpose, I needed to get up in the morning and look forward to what I was going to do with the day and my life.”
