Record-Breaking Lottery Winner Blew $50M in 8 Years Before His Luck Ran Out
He spent more than $125,000 per week.
A man who won a record-breaking amount in a United Kingdom lottery managed to spend $50 million in eight years. After Colin Weir, of North Ayrshire, Scotland, won $257.6 million in the EuroMillions jackpot in 2011 (at the time, the second-highest prize ever), he spent more than $125,000 per week, the Independent reported.
Among his splurges: Luxury cars, a new home, a soccer team, and race horses. Weir's spending spree came to an end when he died of sepsis and kidney failure at age 72 in 2019. Read on to find out how he spent such a chunk of his fortune in a short time.
Weir, a former cameraman married to a nurse, reportedly bought a $6 million home that he spent more to renovate, the Independent reported, along with a $1.3 million five-bedroom seafront home.
The jackpot winner also shelled out for a Jaguar F-Pace SUV (worth about $35,000), a vintage Bentley Arnage ($12,400), a 2019 Mercedes Benz V Class (valued at around $43,000), and a four-year-old Mercedes Benz E Class Estate (£24,000).
Weir, a dedicated sports fan, purchased a 55 percent share in Glasgow's Partick Thistle Football Club before his death. He also financed a youth academy associated with the team. He also bought three prize racing thoroughbreds, including an Irish mare named If You Say Run. His estate also included artwork, furniture, and jewelry worth more than $260,000.
The couple also established a charity, the Weir Charitable Trust, which was hit by scammers in 2015 when hoax emails were sent offering recipients cash. The Scottish police warned the public to be alert for suspicious emails. The Weirs were targeted by scammers at least three times after the 2011 jackpot.
The couple also spent millions on friends, family, and youngsters in need, the Daily Mail reported. They reportedly spent $6 million on houses for close friends and sponsorships for talented local children. Mrs. Weir also bought homes for her six siblings. The couple also donated to their local sports centers and paid for an artificial limb for a talented young athlete stricken by cancer, the news outlet reported.
Unfortunately, as is all too common, the lottery curse struck. In 2018, Weir divorced his wife after almost 40 years of marriage, and she took much of his winnings, the Independent reported.
Weir himself died the next year after planning a $1.5 million lobster-and-champagne party for his friends to remember him by. Ultimately, Weir spent an average of $131,900 a week in the eight years between the jackpot and his death.
