Lottery winner's downfall from $315million fortune to bankruptcy in 5 years
When Jack Whittaker won a whopping $315million on the lottery, little did he know it would be the beginning of 17 years of tragedy and hardship.
Whittaker, who was “volatile” and a “complete wacko” according to an accountant who helped him with a combative divorce, won the Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002. The former construction engineer from Putnam County, West Virginia, was already worth $17million before his winnings.
His first mistake was failing to break up his prize winnings into multiple payments over time - and he instead took an after-tax single lump sum of $113million home.
From there on, his
saw family tragedies - including the terrible death of his granddaughter - hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen, a fire which destroyed his home, and people attempting to spike him.
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Whittaker did not throw all of his money away, and donated a fair chunk of it to charitable causes. As a religious man, he donated $15million to build two churches. He also created the Jack Whittaker Foundation, sending checks to cover people’s house and car payments along with other expenses. To receive a cheque, people only had to ask.
Jack Whittaker took his daughter Ginger, granddaughter Brandi, and wife Jewell (left to right) to lunch after the win (NY Daily News via Getty Images)But some say Whittaker did not give himself the best chance at a peaceful and happy lifestyle after the lottery winnings - he became notorious in the area for brash spending, gambling, bar fights, and unwanted sexual propositions. Whittaker, who passed away on June 27 2020 aged 72, may be one of the Powerball’s unluckiest - and unpopular - winners.
Bob Rufus, the divorce accountant, recalled an argument between Whittaker and his wife’s divorce lawyer. “I remember him being in a heated dispute with Jewell’s lawyer, who said to Jack: ‘You confused your IQ with the amount of your lottery winning,’” Rufus said. “Jack was ready to start throwing punches. He was very volatile.”
And it didn’t take long for Whittaker to start throwing his winnings around - despite vowing the prize would never change him. A week after the win he turned up at Pink Pony, his local strip club, and stuck $50,000 on the bar in cash.
The bar manager told the Washington Post at the time: “My worst nightmare was waking up in the morning and reading in the paper that Jack Whittaker got rolled [robbed] at the Pink Pony,” the bar’s manager told the Washington Post. “I said, ‘Please put that money away . . .’”
Whittaker rented a limousine in a visit to New York City with his newfound riches (NY Daily News via Getty Images)It wasn’t long before the manager’s fears turned to reality. Months later, he returned to the Pink Pony and bragged of the $545,000 he had stashed in his Lincoln outside. Two employees are alleged to have spiked him, broken into the vehicle and stolen the cash - despite being charged they never saw prison. The cash was later found near a dumpster, a rare stroke of post-win luck for Whittaker.
But Whittaker never went long without being the talk of the town. Five months later, $200,000 was taken from the same car, again in the Pink Pony parking lot. In 2018, another $100,000 was stolen when his car was parked outside his house.
Whittaker became a local celebrity - perhaps more infamous than famous - and became known for his newfound boisterous arrogance. The Washington Post reported Whittaker loudly offering one female bartender money for sex, and offering $10,000 to another bartender if she posed for him in her underwear. He was, of course, rejected by both.
But things at home were not quite the flashy story of money, sex, clubs and cars. In fact, in 2004 it took a tragic turn, with the devastating death of Whittaker’s teenage granddaughter Brandi - believed to be the apple of his eye.
Earlier in the year, Brandi’s friend was found dead from a drug overdose in Whittaker’s house. And later that year, Brandi was discovered dead, her body wrapped in plastic tarpaulin behind an abandoned van.
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Rufus recalled that Whittaker gave huge sums of money to his granddaughter - which he believes may have been related to the tragedy. “He gave a crazy stipend to his 17-year-old granddaughter and that attracted some bad characters; nothing good came of it,” he said. According to the West Virginia Gazette, Brandi received $2,000 per week and was gifted four cars by Whittaker.
Over the next years he continued to enjoy gambling, which saw him embroiled in a legal battle with Caesars Atlantic City for bouncing a check for $1.5 million - which he didn’t have. He was also accused of sexual assault in a casino - he settled the case, before saying in 2007 he could not pay as he was broke. His life appeared to have settled down after that - until his house burned down in 2016.
Rufus says that “all of the stories are true”. He said: “What happened to Jack would be humiliating to a normal person. But he felt like he was above it all as a result of his financial worth. I think his reflection would be that he was a victim of the lottery. It certainly wrecked his life.”
Whittaker and his wife once said that if they could travel back in time, they would tear the ticket up. Whittaker felt he would only be remembered as the “lunatic who won the lottery”.
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