Revelling in the misfortune of others is anything but classy, although if they won the lottery and then proceeded to blow it all sympathy will always be limited.

If you happen to win tomorrow’s Powerball, just the R23 billion [buy tickets HERE, do it), and manage to blow through that you’ll definitely be making this list in future editions.

Not that all the stories point to wanton spending and poorly thought out plans – we’ll choose a mix and you can choose to dish out sympathy and scorn where you see fit. These below from Business Insider:

Sharon Tirabassi

In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10,569,00.10 (Canadian).

She subsequently spent her winnings on a “big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family, loans to friends,” and in less than a decade she’s back “riding the bus, working part-time, and living in a rented house.”

Luckily, Tirabassi put some of her windfall in trusts for her six children, who can claim the money when they turn 26.

William “Bud” Post

William “Bud” Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but was $1 million in debt within a year.

“I wish it never happened,” Post said. “It was totally a nightmare.”

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings and his brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him in the hopes that he’d inherit a share of the winnings.

After sinking money into various family businesses, Post sank into debt and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.

Bud now lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

Michael Carroll

Michael Carroll was at his peak when he won Britain’s £9.7 million— $15 million — jackpot in 2002, the Daily Mail reports.

But a penchant for life in the fast lane — cocaine, parties, hookers, and cars — put him back at square one in five years.

Last we heard, the ex-garbageman was hoping to get his old job back.

Janite Lee

After winning an $18 million lottery jackpot in 1993, Janite Lee’s earnings were gone within a decade.

…Lee, a wigmaker from South Korea, blew her winnings on, of all things, charity.

A reading room was named after her at Washington University’s law school, and she was a major donor for the Democratic Party.

But her giving hand, coupled with a little gambling and a lot of credit-card debt, allegedly did her in. She filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Ibi Roncaioli

Ontario resident Ibi Roncaioli walked away with $5 million in a 1991 Lotto 649 drawing, but she didn’t tell her husband how she decided to spend it.

When Joseph Roncaioli, a gynecologist, found out Ibi gave $2 million of her fortune to a secret child she’d had with another man, he poisoned her with painkillers…

He was found guilty of manslaughter and reportedly asked Ibi’s family to help foot the bill for her funeral.

Now I don’t want to knock these folks, some of them had good intentions, but I’d like to think I could handle winning the now $1,4 billion (R24 billion) Powerball lottery a little better.

First up you might want to give these tips a read, coming from a seven time winner and all. Personally I’m putting a billion aside for wanton spending but to each their own right…

The full list of 21 lottery winners whose lives didn’t go according to plan can be found HERE.

[source:businessinsider]