Did you know that it is possible to win the lottery and go bankrupt?



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By October 2018, the US Mega Millions lottery had racked up the highest award in the history of the United States: $ 1.5 billion, without winning the contest since the end of July. The probability of winning is 400 times less than that of a flash, so you have a sense.

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Did you know that it is possible to win in the lottery and make bankruptcy?

First, the price is much smaller than it seems. With the only winner, the bettor can choose to receive a one-time payment of $ 878 million or receive annual installments of $ 1.5 billion that progressively increase over 30 years.

The tax is as follows. If the bettor comes from a US state that does not levy taxes on lotteries, such as Florida or Texas, and opts for the single amount, the government pays $ 211 million, leaving $ 667 million dollars of the original price. However, as the winner is from South Carolina, an additional 7% tax would be paid, with $ 606 million remaining

But that's not just the problem. According to studies, the mere fact of winning the lottery only delays the bankruptcy and one-third of the winners lose everything. In an article published in 2001, economists Guido Imbens and Bruce Priest, in partnership with the statistician Donald Rubin, showed how this was going and especially that people tended to spend unexpected gains.

organized about ten years after winning the prize, revealed that these people had saved only 16 cents per dollar of money received.

Can a lottery winner spend hundreds of millions of dollars so quickly?

all means not to buy property and to use only money for walks, excursions and restaurants

There is an example of a fact that is true. is produced. An American named Huntington Hartford, who lived between the years 1911 and 2008m, inherited the fortune from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. The company was opened shortly before the Civil War and is better known as the A & P supermarket chain.

The A & P grocery store was the first food store in Canada. From one end to the other of the United States, and from the First World War to the 1960s. In practice, this was what Walmart represented today for American consumers

Hartford had inherited about $ 90 million at the age of 12. If you adjust the value for inflation, it means that your childhood brought in more than $ 1.3 billion (after taxes). However, he declared bankruptcy in 1992, about 70 years after receiving one of the largest fortunes in the world.

It had the opposite effect of Midas touch. In other words, he lost millions by buying real estate, creating an art museum, sponsoring plays and shows. He combined the lack of physical fitness for business with an exceptionally luxurious lifestyle. Finally, he declared bankruptcy and lived in prison in the Bahamas with one of his daughters until his death.

Luck is at his side

The story of Hartford's life badociated with scientific research shows that money falls from the sky. do not always bring happiness. It's easier to spend than it looks.

If you play the lottery without winning, I wish you good luck next time.

Yet, one of the most important lessons, whether you play the lottery or not, is that when you receive unexpected money, you have to think about the future and resist it. the temptation so human. spend everything.

* Jay L. Zagorsky is Adjunct Professor at Boston University in the United States. This article was originally published on The Conversation's academic news site and re-posted here under a Creative Commons license.

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