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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.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
Tim Harford
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.
