A Scottish man who won a then-record lottery prize died nearly broke after spending lavishly on luxury items, purchasing mansions, investing in professional sports teams, and going through divorce.
Colin Wier won the EuroMillions jackpot in 2011 and collected a cool prize of the equivalent of a quarter of a million dollars. At the time of his death in 2019, new documents show, he split roughly $81 million in divorce and burned through another $50 million. This came after spending taxes on the initial winnings.
At the time of his death, his family reportedly spent about $1 million on a massive party. Whatever was left over went to his two children.
One financial expert who responded to this news said Weir’s spending patterns “takes a bit of doing” in the classic understated tone of the Brits.
Fox News did a bit of math and concluded Weir’s wild spending habits had to average over $130,000 per week of his life since hitting the jackpot.
Fox News briefly described the turbulent eight years following his win.
Weir and his wife Christine bought a £3.5million (roughly $5.75 million) mansion called Frognal House and spent thousands renovating the property.
The fortune took a big hit when the couple split in 2018, but Weir had made a number of investments across the last eight years of his life, most notably purchasing a 55% share in Glasgow soccer team Partick Thistle, investing in thoroughbred racehorses and establishing the Weir Charitable Trust, according to the Independent.
Weir ended up giving his ownership share of the football team to a supporter’s group, making the team fan owned. He had also paid off the team’s debt and funded a youth sports academy in their team.
Indeed, it seems that for as much as Weir enjoyed his life after winning the lottery – as anyone would do – he also found plenty of charitable causes and put his money to good work.
Fox News again described how the Scottish Weir was a proponent of independence from Britain and donated to the failed 2014 referendum seeking to move away from English control.
Weir also donated to the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s failed 2014 Independence Referendum campaign, drawing praise from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon upon his death. Sturgeon said that Weir’s “determination and generosity in the cause of Scottish independence cannot be overstated and was hugely appreciated.”
Some of Weir’s more exotic automobile purchases included a Jaguar F-Pace SUV, a vintage Bentley Arnage, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz V Class and a Mercedes-Benz E Class Estate. He also purchased a $1 million seaside home called “The Mansions” following his 2018 divorce from his wife.
Weir died at the age of 72 from complications from sepsis. As an older winner of the lottery, perhaps he felt that he had a short window to enjoy as much as he could. No one could blame him. And, of course, he died with millions more ready to spend.
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