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Powerball Jack, Michael Jackson, and Uncontrolled Wealth
Stop! the love you save may be your own.
Darling, take it slow
Or some day you'll be all alone.
-Jackson Five
July 5, two days before Michael Jackson's funeral, another person died too soon.
Ginger Bragg, the 42 year old daughter of West Virginia Powerball winner Jack Whitaker, was found dead.
Foul play is not suspected but the police are doing a toxicology report.
I've written dozens of columns about Jack Whitaker and devoted part of a book to him. I wrote about Jack because he was the shining example of how mishandling money can screw up your life.
Now, I really pity him.
He won $314 million but I wouldn't trade my life for his. I don't think a street beggar's would trade lives with Jack.
Whitaker had everything and lost it.
Since Whitaker won the Powerball on Christmas Day 2002, nothing has right for him.
Jack's 17 year old granddaughter died of an overdose and one of her friends died in Jack's house. He's been arrested for drunken driving and assault. He wasted money on stupid things, like booze and strippers. He has been sued hundreds of times. His wife, who filed for divorce, wishes Jack had torn up the winning ticket.
Now Jack has lost his daughter. If Jack could trade the $314 million to get his old life back, I am sure he would.
Whitaker and Michael Jackson had a common life thread. Money didn't buy happiness. It was a major cause of their misery. Michael earned his money over a lifetime. Jack's money came in one winning ticket.
Both had the pressures of unlimited money and unlimited demands.
I advise people who win the lottery to keep it confidential. I've known several lottery winners who set up a trust or setting up a corporation to shielded their identity. No one knows they won the lottery and no one ever will.
That keeps the posse of new found "friends" away. Both Whitaker and Jackson were surrounded by people not looking out for their best interests.
Hiding his wealth was not an option for Jackson but some famous people handle money well.
I don't see Warren Buffet going on wild shopping sprees like Jackson or taking $600,000 to a strip club like Powerball Jack.
Warren Buffett has a tremendous sense of balance. He earned his money himself, over a long period of time and his closest advisers are intelligent, wealthy and grounded like he is.
They are looking for a friend, not a handout.
Micheal Jackson and Jack Whitaker needed some friends like that.
I've worked with people who receive sudden wealth, like lottery winners and people who receive injury settlements for 27 years.
The way to keep them from suffering the fate of Whitaker and Jackson is to put limits on how much money they can get at one time. Nothing else seems to work.
Unlimited amounts of anything are bad. Too much food will make you fat. Medicines can alleviate pain and ailments but too much at once can kill someone.
The same holds true with money.
Having enough money to live comfortably, support your family and contribute to the community is wonderful. Uncontrolled wealth brings on uncontrolled problems.
As the Jackson Five sang, "take it slow, or someday you'll be all alone."
Like Jack Whitaker is.
Don McNay, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, CSSC is the founder of McNay Settlement Group, a structured settlement and financial consulting firm, in Richmond, Kentucky. You can follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/donmcnay
He is the author of Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You When The Lottery. You can write to Don at don@donmcnay.com or read his award winning column at www.donmcnay.com. He is a frequent guest on television and radio talk shows.
McNay is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Round Table.
Follow Don McNay on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Donmcnay
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For all the nattering going on about Michael Jackson's money and his inability to "handle" it, none of us knows, it's not our business.
But when one attempts to offer a commentary about this, one would do well to consider several things:
1. It is almost-universally agreed that his acquisition of that much-discussed music catalog was brilliant.
2. His attorney, Mr. LaBlanca (sp?) is an old, trusted friend who crafted his final will and testament.
3. I won't pretend to have insider knowledge, but I understand all monies will be put in a trust avoiding a public listing of who gets what and how much.
4. Again, I am repeating what I've read/heard but we can't look at his debt load from our perspective. His assets are worth between $.5 and $2 bn. For the average person, a debt load of $400 million is inconceivable, but at that level of wealth, after all debt is settled, he still has an asset portfolio of (I'm really, really ball parking it here) 100 million dollars.
Not to mention the alleged portfolio of songs he left for his children....
Who knows what they are?
or
How much they are worth?
or
If they will ever be released?
or
If they end up smash hits, overshadowing anything he's ever done?
In other words, we don't know.
But we love to speculate....
blaqntelligence you nailed it. in addition, Jackson will continue making money. and to say "Uncontrolled wealth brings on uncontrolled problems." life will always have problems whether one has uncontrolled wealth or not, and i confess, i would rather have lots of moneys than live on less than $2 per day!!
MJ tragic life is cause by the media, extortions not by mishandling the money..two very different lives
Thank you. This author is just another clown who knows nothing about Michael except what he got from a tabloid or one of the "cable news" programs. Sensationalized fictional crap. As far as that shopping spree that was shown in Bashir's "dcoumentary" - we have no idea what he actually paid for those items because he said that he was going to negotiate the price with the shop owner. So Brashir running around adding up the price tags was just some more sensationalized yellow journalism.
The best way for me to honor Michael's memory is to tune out the tabloids and tv talking heads who made their careers off of telling endless lies about him.
You don't know jack.
You don't know Jack either.
The man wasn't poor by any means before the lottery win.
And he was pretty much the same man then as he is now.
Only difference is; he wasn't famous before the win.
Sounds like Jack Whitaker was Jack Whitaker's problem, as well as those he was associated with, and those his family associated with. He needed some friends more like Warren Buffet, somebody that understands what seemingly endless wealth can do to a person. The question I have is, would this family have had so much trouble with alcohol and drugs without the money? I would hazard a guess as yes. Jack Whitaker was obviously unable to determine the best course of action for himself and his family after winning so much money. The best thing to have done was first, give a couple million to your closest family members, mom, dad, siblings. Then packed up and moved without leaving a forwarding address. Put yourself someplace new, where none of your old life can find you except perhaps a few family members you can trust. Hire an accountant, and a couple of staff members to take care of you. Finally, and probably the most important thing would be to get a really good lawyer on retainer. One that will head off any crap that people try to fling at you. That kind of money requires more then yourself to manage. He should have hired somebody to babysit him and his family while they enjoyed never having to work again. Instead he lost everything, and has nothing and nobody to blame but himself.
These lotteries are dishonest.
It has been a long time since .3 billion was a lot of money.
Plus the lotteries often do not pay the entire sum at once and taxes must come out as well.
They are probably lucky to get half of it, if that.
.
He needs spiritual protection. Not just a church of any kind. He needs to keep his intentions clean, actions clean, and to stay away from bars, clubs, or any areas where negative energies, entities, drugs or abuse is taking place or lurking. He needs to read, spend time with family, close trustworthy friends, take up a hobby where he's doing humanitarian work (giving back), eat well and work out daily. In due time his energy field will have attracted more positive energy than negative and things will change. He may even have had a curse put on him at some time in his life that will continue to plague his energy field. This means that he will need 3 times the positive energy that the person without a curse needs in daily life. That's my advice and I hope somehow Mr Whitaker finds this article and takes my advice. I know where he's at, I've been there, and lost my entire family to crazy events, as well as many other horrible things happening. God wants his messengers to be seasoned.
Money may not buy happiness but the bad luck lottery winner did rent some prostitutes & other sex workers to seek a short term substitute for love. I thought that love of money is what some religions condemn.
"money may not buy happiness" and i am sure poverty too will not buy happiness. at least having money, one is able to put a roof above their heads, and food on the table..at least one thing for sure, money is the root of all evil!!
Great post great advice!
I don't think this is a great post. Michael Jackson's life and your Powerball Jack's were nothing alike.
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