The vast majority of us will only ever be able to dream about a substantial lottery win. Yet, for a finite number of people – the dream has become a reality.
Checking your ticket and seeing the matching numbers is a feeling like no other. But who are the lucky few to have secured a lottery jackpot? And at Christmas – a time notorious for lavish and extravagant spending – what could they have spent their lottery winnings on?
Record Jackpots
There are numerous lotteries worldwide that provide life-changing jackpot wins, but they arguably come no bigger than the Mega Millions jackpot. Two of the three largest world jackpots have come via the Mega Millions lottery, including the eye-watering $1.54 billion jackpot prize picked up by a South Carolina resident back in October 2018 – a sum which remains to this date a record single ticket jackpot win. Mega Millions settle their jackpot in a tier system, with the most recent jackpot’s top tier paying out a huge €16,477,722.12. The top-tier jackpots on offer at Mega Millions often far outweigh those provided by European lotteries such as the Euromillions.
Whilst the 2018 Mega Millions winner in South Carolina decided to remain anonymous, not all lottery winners share the same desire for anonymity. In the UK, former TV cameraman Colin Weir and his then-wife Christine scooped a £161 million Euromillions jackpot back in 2011 – propelling them to being the 22nd richest people in Scotland overnight. Mr and Mrs Weir spent a proportion of their winnings acquiring football side Partick Thistle FC, alongside donations to Scottish political party the SNP.
Christmas Spending
So, how do lottery winners splash out at Christmas? Well, the answer might be more disappointing than you’d expect. According to Ted and Marilyn Newton – who won £7.9 million – they didn’t “have a clue what to get anyone” after their substantial win, having already shared a large proportion of their winnings with their family. Whilst many people think that the Christmas immediately after a lottery win would be one full of luxury gifts, the initial splurge after winning the lottery may feel like Christmas has already come early to many people.
Festive Buys
For any new lottery winners looking to source Christmas presents for their friends and family, Magpie & Co is a company set up exclusively to purchase gifts. Magpie & Co do Christmas specials including stockings and are even prepared to source gifts for the entire family – should a new lottery winner want their Christmas to be extra special. To enjoy a lavish Christmas dinner, Chef Ben Spalding has created a Christmas feast fit for any lottery winner, which comes in at a total cost of £125,000. The meal includes £6,000 worth of edible gold leaf and £5,000 worth of caviar.
With lottery jackpots seemingly getting larger and larger, there should be plenty more millionaires – and even billionaires – created in the immediate future. Whilst everyone has their own ideas on what they would purchase if winning the lottery, there is little doubt that being freely able to treat friends and family is top of everyone’s priority list. One thing’s for sure, should your numbers come up, there is plenty available on the market to make your next Christmas one to remember.
