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Does winning the lottery actually ruin your life?

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone loses their friends and goes bankrupt

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Lottery winners don’t do as badly as we might have feared, says the writer.

Lottery winners don’t do as badly as we might have feared, says the writer.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Tim Harford

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At the start of the graphic novel Bloke’s Progress, our everyday hero Darren Bloke isn’t coping with the everyday stresses of life. He has a tedious job, a grinding commute, squalling children and too many bills to pay. Then he wins the lottery – and his troubles truly begin.

First, Darren becomes estranged from his friends, who keep pestering him for money. He hangs out with a richer crowd but feels out of place. He divorces his wife and marries a new woman. Then she divorces him. His money is soon gone, and so, too, are his family and friends.

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