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Powerball lottery winner took home a $27million jackpot – but after 5 years was penniless and living in a storage shed


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Powerball lottery winner took home a $27million jackpot – but after 5 years was penniless and living in a storage shed 

 

A MAN who had won the Powerball lottery in the early 2000s spent all of his winnings and lived in a storage shed before his death.

David Lee Edwards, a convicted felon from Ashland, Kentucky, won a one-quarter share, about $27 million after taxes, from the Powerball jackpot of $280 million during August 2001. 

David Lee Edwards and Shawna Renae Johnson won the Powerball lottery in 2001 and gained $27 million

David Lee Edwards and Shawna Renae Johnson won the Powerball lottery in 2001 and gained $27 million 

Over the course of five years, Edwards spent the entire fortune

Over the course of five years, Edwards spent the entire fortune. 

 

At the time, the jackpot was the third-biggest in US lottery history, per the Lexington Herald Leader.

Not long after the lucky draw, Edwards quickly married Shawna Maddux in Malibu, California, and quickly went to work spending his newfound fortune.

The massive purchases included a mansion within a gated community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, along with over a dozen expensive cars, and even a private LearJet, per the Courier-Journal.

Only five years later in 2006, drug addiction and over-spending left Edwards and Maddux penniless and housed in a storage shed allegedly covered in human feces. 

Maddux soon left and re-married. Eventually, she and her second husband took Edwards in before putting him into hospice care during the early 2010s.

Then, in 2013, Edwards died at the age of 58.

By the end of his life, Edwards had lost all of the $27 million jackpot he had won in 2001 and even owed friends and business partners thousands.

The purchases that the lottery winner made after earning his cash were immediate and massive.

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What you don't earn, you will lose within no time. That's the moral of the story.

Dabbu anedi value teliyani vadi chetilo nilavadu, charitra mottam ide chebutundi.

 

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42 minutes ago, tennisluvrredux said:

It's not that, money ni sampayinchinollu esp those who didn't come from wealth don't throw around their money, and live well within their means.

Even the ones that come from money usually are taught well by their rich parents the value of it and they spend it strategically.

Naa friend okadundevadu he was filthy filthy rich they had a house on a mountain in jubilee hills back in the late 90s, appatlo ne daani viluva 10 crores. 

But if you talk to him, he won't come across as balisina party and the way he used to spend he was very thoughtful even in those days. I have noticed this with wealthier kids here too, they don't throw around money without respect. 

But average American lives paycheck to paycheck, so do Indians in India. 

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  • 1 year later...

It's unfortunate to hear stories like this, where someone wins big but ends up struggling later on. Money management is definitely a skill that's crucial, whether you come into wealth suddenly or grow up with it. I've seen this firsthand too. A family friend was incredibly wealthy, but they always lived modestly and invested wisely. They taught their kids the value of money from a young age, and it really shows in how they handle their finances today. It's not about how much you have, but how you respect and manage it. I think forums like KOITOTO are great for discussing these topics openly. It's my first time here, but already I'm finding some interesting perspectives. It's important to learn from stories like this and think about how we'd handle a windfall ourselves.

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