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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why lottery winners want publicity?

81 replies

BigMomma3 · 16/02/2010 11:23

Friday's Euromillions winners - names and photos all over the papers and news. Now everyone will know who they are and what they have. DCs schoolfriends will all know.

Just don't understand why they would want people to know. Opens up a whole can of worms wrt jealousy, people trying to get money out of them, potential kidnappings etc. Same with the woman who won 36 mill a few years ago. She said her DS would not move schools so why would she publicise the fact she now has loads of money and therefore create potential problems for her DS??

It would be wonderful to win but I think all the publicity about it will not create happiness for them in the long run. Why not keep it quiet - just don't get it. AIBU??

OP posts:
catwalker · 16/02/2010 11:47

I was wondering the same thing. I just wouldn't want anyone to know. Maybe it's in the small print when you buy a ticket that publicity is part of the deal? I think winning that amount of money could really change your life for the worse - I'd want to give £50m of it to charity/good causes straight away and hang on to the remaining £6m

cluckyduck · 16/02/2010 11:52

I was wondering the same thing. I cannot see how any good at all would come of all and sundry knowing your bank balance? Much better to keep it under your hat, invest wisely and quietly slip a LOT of it off to good causes IMO.

Clumsymum · 16/02/2010 11:53

I believe that you have a right to remain anonymous when you wion, altho I suspect Camelot try to persuade you to go public, as it's good marketing for them.

I think it's utterly stupid to be so public about it tho'.

Apart from anything else, I feel it could open up a kidnapping risk, for them or their children when such a large amount of money is involved.

emsyj · 16/02/2010 11:56

It isn't compulsory to go public and the majority of lottery winners that I have met (in a work capacity - I don't work for Camelot tho!) do opt out of publicity. As far as I am aware, there is no pressure exerted by Camelot - certainly none of the lottery winners I have come across have ever complained about being pressured to allow publicity.

Some people like the idea of being famous. It's not what I would do, but takes all sorts I suppose.

PavlovtheCat · 16/02/2010 11:56

They are not given any time to consider it i don't think. Have a lotto 'counsellor' on your doorstep in hours, you probably sign a publicity contract while drinking your celebratory champagne without thinking through the consequences, and with some 'encouragement'.
Even if you gave most of it away, people would not know or remember that. they would remember 'they won £56m'.

Anonimity for me if there is a choice, absolutely.

dawntigga · 16/02/2010 11:56

Have always said I would not have any publicity.

You can bet the tabloids would find you though, somebody always talks.

HasAPlanToDoItQuietlyTiggaxx

MrsC2010 · 16/02/2010 11:58

I suspect they figured people would find out, and the media would be sniffing around trying to figure it out so they figured they'd just get it over with. Still wouldn't be my way of doing it though!

PavlovtheCat · 16/02/2010 11:58

although i suspect the move out of our flat into a bigger place, the nice holiday, with some friends, and a new car and a new wardrobe would raise a few eyebrows and suspicions!

MiladyDeWinter · 16/02/2010 11:58

The thought of being in the paper for any reason horrifies me, let alone having my children made vulnerable.

With millions at my disposal I'd be paying good lawyers to make sure my family had a very low profile indeed.

expatinscotland · 16/02/2010 12:00

The Irish lady who won £77m in the EuroMillions had very wisely left the country when word got out and has had no press since.

Rockbird · 16/02/2010 12:01

I don't get it either. I wouldn't even tell DH because he's rubbish at secrets . I can't imagine anything worse than having to deal with a huge life changing event with the locals and nationals sticking cameras in your face. Why on earth would you sign up for that? I would tell extended family I had had a smallish win, enough to cover myself for anything I wanted to give them and then everyone else could butt out.

DuelingFanjo · 16/02/2010 12:02

Probably it's damage limitation? I imagine it would be quite difficult to keep a secret. Someone in your family or extended group of friends would say something to someone and then you'd be bombarded.

By going public you can kind of control the media coverage I expect.

emsyj · 16/02/2010 12:03

I used to be one of those lawyers Milady!!!! Now changed to a different area of practice, although I do miss the lottery winners. Some of them were uber-secretive and didn't even tell their children they had won - carried on with same jobs, stayed in same house etc. One elderly winner required all his post to be sent to him in unmarked envelopes with stamps on rather than franking in case it gave him away.

MiladyDeWinter · 16/02/2010 12:08

Blimey emsyj I bet that was an interesting line of work. Can I tempt you back to it should I need to?

DH has a plan involving a yarn about an incredibly boring-sounding but lucrative computer code patent. It should put off nosy friends and neighbours even I can't stand to hear the full details zzzzz

Clumsymum · 16/02/2010 12:09

Dueling
" Someone in your family or extended group of friends would say something to someone"

Thats why DH and I have agreed that, if it ever happened to us, we would tell NOBODY. Yes of course close rellies would realise our circumstances had changed, but we know how we would deal with that (and don't plan to rush out to buy Ferraries and private planes anyway).

We would help our close rellies, but in a gentle quiet way, and we would never tell them we had won the lottery. That way, we wouldn't be expecting them to keep an intolerable secret.

Morloth · 16/02/2010 12:09

I don't think we would tell anyone at all. More money wouldn't make that much difference to my life, I might fly home first class instead of cattle and would probably buy a nicer house than the one we currently have planned. Other than that though would just tuck it away so don't have to worry ever again.

DH would still work, because he is an addict.

MaggieMaeve · 16/02/2010 12:11

I know. I was thinking about this. I'd go up a house every two and a half years. I wouldn't buy a 2010 car, 2008 would be lovely thank you.... I would try to rein myself in. FOr my own sake and so that I wasn't written off as a trashy lottery winner!! I would give loads to my family. There are a few charities I'd love to help.

I didn't buy a ticket mind you....

expatinscotland · 16/02/2010 12:12

Fuck that! I'd go the whole hog and live like a WAG.

PavlovtheCat · 16/02/2010 12:13

clumsymum

..."and don't plan to rush out to buy Ferraries and private planes anyway)"
love the way you are talking like it is going to happen, rather than it might happen

you wanna tell us something ? i am your friend remember that, you can tell me anything

emsyj · 16/02/2010 12:13

Well technically my job was wills, trusts and tax planning, so hardly 'cover of night' work, but of course we had to be very discreet to avoid anyone being given away. My boss used to attend the panel meetings with winners to tell them what we could offer and then the interested ones would call us to make an appointment. It was really interesting stuff (obviously they have to tell you how much £££ they've got and what they plan to do with it which is great if you're nosey). We occasionally changed people's names and made anonymous house purchase offers for them etc to help them stay incognito. It was fun, and have to say I worked with a lovely team of people and I do miss it .

MaggieMaeve · 16/02/2010 12:15

ExpatinScotland, Dolores McAllister's life has been one long bag of shit since she won the 77m. Her son was stabbed in a bar fight. All sorts of crap came looking for them. I think they were determined to stay in the bosom of their working class roots, which didn't work out well for them.

They would have been better off moving to a posher area, where people probably would have looked down on them, BUT not stabbed them. ykwim?

GetOrfMoiLand · 16/02/2010 12:16

I was thinking this the other day.

Thought ooh if I won over 100 million I would still live in Gloiucestershire because of dd's schooling. Would not want a huge house etc.

Then I actually thought about it nad though screw that for an idea - if I had £100mil I would move to Acapulco or somewhere and sod dd's GCSEs!

EdgarAllenSnow · 16/02/2010 12:17

i think publicity would be very hard to avoid -

you would quit work (suddenly)
move house (shortly afters)

unless you were already quite wealthy you would make a huge number of changes and someone would cotton on....

expatinscotland · 16/02/2010 12:18

I thought she'd moved to Turkey? Personally, she sounds pretty thick not to have left the country entirely. With that kind of money she could have easily gone somewhere else, but then again, if she was a skanger type she'd probably stick out wherever she went .

expatinscotland · 16/02/2010 12:18

I would leave the UK as soon as possible, tbh.