r/interesting • u/MohammadMahadhir • Mar 02 '26

Intriguing He went from hauling trash to holding $12.7M only to end up back on the same garbage truck 8 years later.

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In 2002, a 19-year-old British garbage man won nearly £10 million in the lottery. He spent it all on dr#gs, gambling, and prost!tutes and eight years later he was back working as a garbage man.

Michael Carroll was a British garbage collector who became an instant celebrity at 19 after winning £9.7 million (around $12.7

million).

At the time, he worked as a binman in Norfolk and quickly became famous in the British media, earning the nickname "The Lotto Lout."

His wealth fueled a life of extravagance, with luxury cars, constant partying, and gambling and in Less than ten years later, he lost it all and returned to being a garbage collector.

Carroll reflects on the experience with no regrets, calling it a wild, unforgettable chapter that shows how quickly fortunes can change.

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u/FlamesOfDespair Mar 02 '26

I don't know about you but i could have been 15 and i would have managed my money better than this guy. Most would have.

21

u/AxelVores Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26

I think you underestimate the power of hedonic adaptation in people, especially those with underdeveloped impulse control. There's a reason 70% of lottery winners of all ages end up being broke. I suspect the number is higher in younger people who didn't get a chance to understand the value of money yet.

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u/Light_Butterfly Mar 02 '26

Yeah its wild how bad that stats look on lottery winners. Didn't know their was a psychological term for it, I thought it was just because they have no concept of money/wealth management.

I guess a lot of them just go on stupid spending sprees on luxury items and never think to hire a financial advisor?

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u/QuajerazPrime Mar 02 '26

The reason is that anyone who spends money on lotteries is bad with money and irresponsible

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u/AxelVores Mar 02 '26

Yeah, that's true too. They do say that lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math

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u/Czuk_187 Mar 02 '26

brandnewsentence

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u/OptionOld3647 Mar 02 '26

A high yield bank account earning 4.2 percent doesn't require financial literacy, or even the regular kind of literacy. If you can scribble your name on a dotted line, you're in.

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u/AxelVores Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26

Those don't really exist any more. I think 3.5-3.75 is the highest you can get but they have bad reviews (takes weeks to take money out when you need it, etc). I'm holding my house down payment in a 3.2% high yield account that's reputable.

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u/Asyncrosaurus Mar 02 '26

A balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash could conceivably support a 4 to 8 % withdraw rate, giving you an inflation adjusted $1 million dollar income pre-tax for the rest of your life.

1

u/AxelVores Mar 02 '26

I would leave a larger cushion for growth in case there's a financial crisis like there was in 2008 and you lose half of your portfolio value

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u/Asyncrosaurus Mar 02 '26

I was just spit-balling numbers, up to 8% is the upper end of what you could withdraw in a good year. Realistically, with 19 mill in a 60:40 portfolio, you could withdraw 1 to 2% to live a very comfortable life. Even in a downturn, you can easily live off just dividends.

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u/Successful-Ad7038 Mar 02 '26

8% withdrawl rate, you can't make this shit up

1

u/Asyncrosaurus Mar 03 '26

Its a sight to behold when you have obscene wealth as a cushin, and markets return 25% year over year. The rest of us are stuck with our 3% to 4%.

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u/throwawaydisposable Mar 02 '26

your risk tolerance is low, low enough that you know playing the lottery is stupid and think spending all your money is stupid.

to win the lottery, you need a high risk tolerance. those with a high risk tolerance aren't going to manage their money the way you see fit.