US dad keeps $35m lottery win secret from kids, parents, family

The dad, known only by the pseudonym John to preserve his anonymity, revealed to a Tennessee radio station this month that he had been holding onto the US$22 million (A$35 million, by today’s exchange rate) secret for a staggering two years.

John, who is from the US, said he quietly won the jackpot alongside a “group of co-workers” and pocketed the huge after-tax sum.

He revealed he had shared the good news with just two people — his wife and one sibling. Even his two teenage kids had no idea about their new fortunes, he said.

John said, after the win, he did some research and discovered that a large portion of lottery winners lose their wins or go bankrupt within just a few years.

“You tell too many people and you get too many people at your door asking for handouts and expecting you to pay for everything,” John told the financial advice radio station, The Ramsey Show.

“So my wife and I made a conscious decision just to keep it under wraps. We haven’t even told our two teenage children.

“Now I know that sounds strange, but we just don’t want them to grow up to be waiters, you know, waiting for us to die so they can get our money.

“I want them to go figure out what they want to do in life and then I’ll let them know. I’m not I’m not going to keep it from them forever.”

Just a month after John won the lottery, his wife’s great uncle died and left an inheritance to her and her siblings.

John said the inheritance had acted as a credible “cover story” when they had decided to share some of their win.

“I bought my mum a roof but when she said, ‘How can you afford this?’ I just said, ‘Oh it’s great uncle Bob’s money mum, he wanted us to do this’,” he shared.

John, who’s in his late 40s, said he was living comfortably before the win and hadn’t been compelled to spend lavishly.

“My house was paid off before I won this. My wife and I really have no desire to move,” he explained.

“We had just paid cash for two Toyota cars before we won this and we still have them so we’re not looking to upgrade to anything because they’re perfectly fine cars.”

“I’m still working because I like my job,” he added.

Asked what his biggest splurge was, he responded: “Patio furniture.”

“I’m not a big, flashy guy,” he said.

The show’s hosts, Dave Ramsey and John Delony, said they broadly agreed with John’s decision.

“I think you’re just being wise, because what you’ve discerned is that some of the people in your life couldn’t handle the equation. So, you’re doing them a favour by not putting the strain on them, including on teenagers,” Mr Ramsey said.

Dr Delony added: “I probably wouldn’t tell my teenage kids either”.