This Couple Won $5.6 Million (After Taxes) On The Lottery, And They're Not Sharing Any Of It — Here's How The Family Reacted And What People Are Saying

A can of worms has been opened.

Ah, the lottery. It's something most of us have played with hopes of winning big. However, the lucky few who do win big can end up in situations where the money is mismanaged, and it "ruins" their life.

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Well, Reddit user u/Grand-Signature-4590 and his wife recently won a life-changing amount of money — but now their family is pissed because they are refusing to share it.

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The couple are both 24 years old, and they buy a lottery ticket every month "for fun." Turns out, that worked out in their favor! "After the lump sum fee and taxes, we won around 5.6 million dollars. After paying all our debt (student loans, house mortgage, car loans), we had around 5 million left," he said in the AITA Reddit thread.

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But, u/Grand-Signature-4590 said he didn't want to be a part of the 70% of people who win the lottery and go broke. "What we did was invest 3 million in a combination of mutual funds, REITs, and preferred stock funds for a very steady hands-off extremely low-risk solid return approach. With the 2 million, we ended up buying a 5-million-dollar apartment complex that cashflows and will give a high return with low risk."

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What the couple did sounds very wise, but when they told their family, things quickly took a turn. "I thought the first reaction would be that they were excited for me and how financially responsible we were with the money. But they started talking about a huge family trip, how I would be paying for all their debt, and more. I explained that 5 million is a lot but not enough where I will be giving it away to family, and they got pissed."

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"They said I wasn’t welcomed in this family and that I shouldn’t ever talk to them again. I think I’m in the right because I’m doing what’s best for me and my wife. So do you think I’m the asshole?"

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YIKES. Here is what Reddit users had to say...

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"You’re no longer welcome in the family because you didn’t give them your money? The entitlement is nauseating. You're not assholes. As a side note, I had a family member who won similar money way back, and she did essentially the same thing. No one was anything but happy for her, and it was never suggested that she was selfish. She retired early and has lived on the money ever since. This is to say, not every family is like this. Yours is just full of AHs, and I’m so sorry."

—u/lelawes

"Maybe they just aren't good at math. Seriously. Studies show that people who have a poor grasp of basic mathematics and how compounding interest works are less likely to save adequately for retirement, regardless of income. I bet OP's family thinks he has enough money to support a hundred people and still have an army of servants at his beck and call, but instead, he's choosing to be a miser. In reality, the OP has enough money to buy a nice house and still maintain himself in the upper 20% (but not upper 10%) of household incomes (assuming he's in the United States)."

—u/funklab

"Not an asshole. My husband and I have talked, jokingly, about what we’d do if we won the lottery, and we both agree that our number-one rule would be not giving money to anyone who had the audacity to ask for it."

—u/NUT-me-SHELL

"Those are all good moves, but I guess it depends on how much you like your family. Personally, I would have thrown my family at least 100k each as a one-time payment. My mom, my grandmother, my in-laws, and our nephews. We don’t have a big family. It would be a one-time payment, but honestly, that’s just us. Meanwhile, you don’t want to become and aren’t the family ATM, so having your money tied up is probably smarter than not. I think lottery winners should be allowed to be kept secret for just this reason."

—u/Particular-Tone4981

"I’m someone who definitely would give a lot of it away to family, but there is not a single thing wrong with securing your future with it. These days, sadly, 5 million isn’t even that much. I really wish it was, since it’s still unobtainable for most of us, but more than 10 years ago, it was estimated that the average person would need more than 8 million to live comfortably for the rest of their lives without really smart investing plans. Do what is best for you and yours. I’d choose my wife and son over the rest of my family any day of the week."

—u/BellyButtonFungus

So, there are a few who say they would share because they want to, but them not sharing still doesn't make them assholes. We love a good hypothetical situation, so what would you do in this situation — and what do you think of what the couple did? Let us know in the comments!

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