To think winning £110M overnight would solve a lot of problems but bring a whole set of new ones?

[SereneFinch]

Someone in the UK won £110M last night and I was just thinking about how they’re feeling this morning.

All your money worries are gone, you can buy a nice house, quit your job etc.

But I wonder if those problems are replaced with new ones. Some people in your life might be jealous. Or expect handouts and get angry about who gets what.

And then your DC. Do you tell them they still need to do their homework? That they’ll still need to have a job/career one day?

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be great, I'm just wondering if it swaps one set of problems for another.

But you knew they were wealthy. If you didn’t tell anyone and you lived in a modest house, you couldn’t suddenly upgrade to a mansion or even a house that was obviously outside your means pre lottery win, without friends colleagues etc wondering how you can afford it. If local schools were dire, and you suddenly upgraded to private school or indeed just paid for transport to or moved to a more expensive area with better schools, people would know you had gained money in some way

I think a lot of people (me included) don't really know how much that is. So I think you could tell people you won £1m, they wouldn't expect massive handouts and they'd just think you invested it well when you took massive holidays. Kids would still go to to school etc because they would know £1m isn't enough for generations to give up work.

This approach only works if you resist the temptation to buy a super yacht 😅

You get advice apparently if you win a large sum. From investing to tax details. And I suppose handing out sums to others.

I would let the dust settle and then let close family know I'd won some money.

Circa £12million.

I'd give myself siblings 2 million each (£6 million), my parents 2 million and then by myself a very nice house for about £3.5 million.

Id book a big family ski trip away over Christmas for us all.

I would resign from work invest the rest and give charitable donations.

How lovely.

No, I would not "sit" on that amount of money. I would invest in my children's education and housing. I would invest a vast majority of this in long-term investments continuing to grow wealth for my children's future.
I would not be buying them Ferraris and encouraging them to remain uneducated slobs fannying around in 5 star hotels in Dubai ordering 30k bottles of champagne and posting it on instagram.

Oi, get back in line!!

It's the loss of purpose. Most of us have to work in some way to keep things going financially. Even if you're earning more than a £100,000 a year, you're making sacrifices, financial commitments etc to keep a certain lifestyle up. At the level of 110 million you don't have to, everything is covered forever. So then where is your purpose? Lots of people fall apart at that point.

But would you upgrade their school? If they weren’t happy and there were better schools in different more expensive catchments or private schools, would you move etc.

If they were happy at the school, but like all schools strapped for cash would you make a donation to it to improve the library, tech, pay for a lifetime supply of glue sticks 😀

Never done the lottery but I certainly wouldnt let a kid doing A levels know. Time enough after their exams when you take them on an amazing holiday to celebrate and tell them you can cover sensible living costs and fees for uni. Certainly wouldnt tell them the amount. Work is where many people find a purpose in life and I'd still want them to work.

Money brings different problems but also the ability to solve some problems more readily. It is the impact on the people around you that would be the hardest to deal with. Many families would expect a lot from you, possibly more than you'd want to give.

I inherited some money when my parents and brother passed. Less than a million but a life changing sum.
It solved a lot of problems, but it didn't solve my health issues and it turned me into a character from a victorian novel I had to keep meeting with lawyers and financial advisors and tax people. I also had to manage my parents property and employ someone to do the grounds!
I was amazed at the time this all took. If you did win 110 million it would bring an entire work load with it, sure you could employ people to do some of it but you still have to do it as well. You dont get holidays from it either I had lawyers and my financial advisor contacting me whilst I was on my dream holiday.
With lots of money comes lots of responsibility.
I am grateful for the freedom the money brought me but I was surprised by the administration.

That kind of money usually does bring issues with it but you can do an awful lot of good with it too.
Of course we all want to help charities, family and friends and we would do but I wouldn't invest any in a business of any kind - they are usually doomed for failure anyway if a bank wouldn't loan them any money.
Plus if someone hinted or asked for any money they would be on a blacklist as far as I'm concerned. The money would allow me to gift to whom I choose so any begging letters would be binned straight off. I'd happily keep quiet about a win - it's much easier!

I would only tell immediate family but not straightaway and not how much.

Everyone else, I would say we had an unexpected inheritance and leave it at that.

We also have a plan of what we would do - I am convinced we will win one day so need to be prepared!

Really? What if your child wasn't academic, or had some other barrier to establishing a decent career, such as disability or neurodivergence? Would you seriously let them rot on benefits or in a minimum wage job whilst you enjoyed your 110 million?

Don't be ridiculous.

It wasn't me 😫 that's the biggest problem imo

I didn't even reach those dizzy heights this week 🤣 enjoy your riches lol

If I won that kind of money I wouldn’t tell anyone - or at least how much. I think it would give my life the luxury of time and choice.

I would help all my family and current long term friends.

https://www.philanthropy-impact.org/

https://www.cafonline.org/

https://prismthegiftfund.co.uk/

These organisations work with high net worth individuals to distribute charitable donations discreetly.

I'd also equip all the schools, youth and sports clubs in my area with the equipment they need.

I'd also invest in my local grassroots women and girls sports clubs as they're desperate for investment.

Why would you share some of your £110million with your child? The money that is enabling you to stop working and has "solved" your financial problems? Why would you solve your child's problems? Because they are your child?

YABU for not putting this in Chat.

I’d preferred the new problems!

I think the motivation to work hard when you're very rich must be difficult, and if your parents are rich it's even harder. I guess it must really depend on how the parents handle it. But sudden weath like this would be strange in terms of sitting your exams etc as the parents haven't done the ground work.

My child’s friend has a trust fund similar size, they have to achieve a masters before they can access it!

I don't think it would cause me any problems. There's only my sister who might expect money and I'd gladly give her a substantial share. Any other distant family who popped out of the woodwork could fuck off. What we didn't need between us to live out our lives in ease and comfort would go to animal charities.

I wouldn't, in any case, be making my windfall obvious. I'd quietly resign from my job and find my dream home - which would be a small cottage somewhere I didn't have to worry about being within travel to work - and live a quiet life of leisure, spending my money on things like antiques and vintage stuff, nothing flashy. I don't think I'd even bother replacing our battered little car until it conked out

If anything you desired could be bought, would you lose the desire, or just end up with 30 x diamond rings, 100 x handbags etc? How would you decide which Charities to donate to - who is more deserving than others? Do you become frivolous, splashing money around, or become an anxious wreck, spending sleepless nights worrying how best to allocate it all? Does your life lose purpose? " something to do, someone to love, something to hope for" - would that lose all meaning?

It wouldn't solve finding out how greedy people you know are and those broken relationships. Unless you were ok with pay to play