Most people don't know how to handle big money
Mikhail Semyonov, PhD in Psychology, docent, research interests - psychology of money and economic psychology:
Mikhail Semyonov. Photo: team-consult.ru
- According to statistics, order 70% lottery winners around the world are on the brink of bankruptcy within the next seven years after winning: thoughtless spending and inability to handle a huge amount of money affect.
Not everyone can use lottery winnings wisely. The more money, the more intelligent, and emotional effort must be invested in their conservation and rational use. A large amount is a resource, which must be protected from competing applicants for it: relatives, friends, crime. Example - the tale of the goldfish: having received a huge resource, no old man, no old woman could use it rationally.
Another problem is that after unexpected wealth, many lose touch with their previous environment., meet condemnation and even aggression. People envy them. This is one of the most important motives of human behavior., along with power. Many people want to get some of this money, and in case of refusal they take offense.
The vast majority of people do not know how to handle large (regarding past) money: nor earn, neither save, nor accumulate, nor is it reasonable to spend. Riding a bicycle and a truck are different things. Most people don't understand the difference between 1 million rubles, 100 millions or 1 billion. They all feel like a LOT. Well, of course, unearned money is valued less than earned. So winning the lottery for an ordinary person is primarily a risk.
The biggest Russian lottery prizes won
506 million rubles – 5 November 2017 of the year, "Russian Lotto"
Natalya Petrovna Vlasova became the largest winner in the history of Russian national lotteries, having won more than half a billion rubles. She left her winning weekly ticket on the dresser and nearly threw it away, before I remembered, which would be nice to check the results. When she saw the message that, what did she win 506 million rubles, she thought, that's a mistake, and she rechecked several times, before you believe the incredible news. She said, what will spend money on buying a new home, will go to relax with his family, and also promised to give part of the amount to charity.
364 million rubles – 21 May 2017 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
In May 2017 of the year, a player from Sochi set a record for the jackpot of the Gosloto 6 of 45 ", when he guessed all six numbers of the main draw. He played through a mobile app and paid 700 rubles for tickets.
358 million rubles – 27 february 2017 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
Николай Ф., doctor from Novosibirsk, waited three weeks, before you get your prize. On the news he heard of a major victory, but never could have thought, that it could be his ticket, until, finally, didn't decide to check it. He bet on the game 1800 rubles and played regularly for two years, before I won.
267 million rubles – 21 february 2018 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
A pensioner from Nizhny Novgorod became one of the largest lottery winners in Russia after six months of playing at Gosloto 6 of 45 ". Yuri Nikolaevich said, that I found my successful method of filling a ticket after analyzing combinations of numbers. He swore to use the money, to help your family and enjoy your retirement.
232 million rubles – 14 April 2018 of the year, "Gosloto" 4 out of 20 "
14 April 2018 of the year, a truck driver from Barnaul guessed the entire winning line and won 232 473 870 rubles. Alexander N. told, that he led a normal life, but, when I learned about my victory, I was incredibly happy, since now he could fulfill all his dreams. He wanted to have back surgery, then go on a trip around the world and help children's charities.
209 million rubles – 13 May 2018 of the year, "Russian Lotto"
Igor from Tver told, that his first purchase will be a fur coat for his wife after receiving the main prize in the "Russian Lotto". As an engineer, he declared, that I carefully studied the statistics of drawing numbers before the game, and also believed, that faith in God helped him overcome.
203 million rubles – 30 january 2015 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
Two ticket holders shared the super prize in the 1138th draw of Gosloto 6 of 45 ", each of which became richer by 100 million rubles. One of the tickets belonged to a woman from Nalchik, while the other was bought by the sisters from Murmansk, who announced their victory two months later.
184 million rubles – 10 february 2014 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
Valery T. from Omsk told, that he did not leave the house for three days after, how did you get this sensational super prize. He said, which will move the whole family from cold Siberia somewhere warmer to the sea. At that time, it was the largest prize in the history of Russian lotteries..
100 million rubles – 19 Martha 2009 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
The winner from St. Petersburg promised not to quit his job after, how did you win 100 118 974 ruble in Gosloto 6 of 45 ". Albert Begrakyan told, first played with random numbers, playing unsuccessfully for many years.
100 million rubles – 19 Martha 2009 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
The winner from St. Petersburg promised not to quit his job after, how did you win 100 118 974 ruble in Gosloto 6 of 45 ". Albert Begrakyan told, first played with random numbers, playing unsuccessfully for many years.
74 million rubles – 31 july 2018 of the year, "Gosloto" 6 out of 45 "
Vladimir from Krasnodar said, that he will pamper his daughters with buying new homes after receiving this huge super prize. He said, that he was very lucky, because he was blessed with his lovely family and new granddaughter.
Wealth preservation
Research on, how unexpected winnings affect the winner, recently completed in Sweden, and it refutes the long-standing myth about the sad fate of such people. In this paper, we considered 3 362 lottery winner, winners over 100 000 dollars, and the level of their well-being through 5-20 years after receiving this money.
Most of the lottery winners, winners of large sums (from 100 000 to 2 million dollars) kept their wealth and ten years after winning.
One of the co-authors of the study, Dr. Daniel Cesarini, Professor of Economics, New York University, suggests, what if you study American history, winners of multi-million dollar prizes, then the results will not differ much from the Swedish examples:
"Hard to say, will the results be different, if we do research in America ", - he said. "I suppose, that they will not be radically different. There are some examples of, what money gives in the United States more (compared to Sweden), eg, health care, but i would not be shocked, if someone had done a similar study in the US and reached similar conclusions "
According to Cesari, opinion about, that many winners will squander their wealth, is wrong. He adds: - “We invariably see, that they work a little less, but spending money is quite reasonable. This does not mean, that none of them struggled with the problem of self-control and did not use money in this way, which is not in their best interests. Also, the scientist adds, that the behavior of lottery winners is much more rational, how can this be imagined when reading some stories in the media.
At all, distortion of information about the fate of lottery winners occurs most often as a result of the nature of the media themselves - people like to read scandalous news about exorbitant spending, rather than a calm story about, how people were able to reasonably dispose of unexpected money for them.
