In his darkest moments, Jack Whittaker has sometimes wondered if winning the nearly $315 million Powerball game was really worth it.
The jackpot that was the stuff of dreams turned into a nightmare: His wife left him and his drug-addicted granddaughter — his protege and heir — died. He endured constant requests for money.
Almost five years later, Whittaker is left with things money can't cure: His daughter's cancer, a long list of indiscretions documented in newspapers and court records, and an inability to trust others.
"I don't have any friends," he said in lengthy interview with The Associated Press. "Every friend that I've had, practically, has wanted to borrow money or something and of course, once they borrow money from you, you can't be friends anymore."
Whittaker was a self-made millionaire long before he became a lottery winner, having built a pipeline business worth $17 million. Then he hit the Powerball in December 2002. It was then the largest-single jackpot ever.
The prize was worth $314.9. Whittaker opted for the lump-sum payout of $170 million — $93 million after taxes.
He still has plenty of money. And instead of retiring, the 59-year-old starts his day at 5 a.m., juggling ventures in construction, real estate, used-cars, even movies. Work is the last remnant of his old life.
Wittaker answers questions
"Nothing else is normal," he said, sounding simultaneously gruff and sad.
His appearance has changed little. His blue eyes still twinkle when he tells a joke, his cowboy boots are worn from wear, and his grin remains toothless. He's too busy, he says, to pay attention to looks.
Whittaker began working part-time for his father at age 10, pouring cement. At 14, he dropped out of school to work full time. He's owned some kind of business ever since.
"I was accustomed to making big money and making my own money, and I never could get interested in school again after that."
By his own estimate, he's brought water and sewer service to some 100,000 homes and still does some good by providing 200 high-paying jobs.
"Probably the lowest-paid man in my construction company is, I'd say, $36 an hour," he said. "That's a good wage for any part of West Virginia."
Whittaker's family never wanted for anything, and he admits they have long been accustomed to a lifestyle most would consider lavish.
With every change of the seasons, new wardrobes filled their closets. The paint job on one of his granddaughter's many cars cost $16,000. Even the family's marble mausoleum towers over nearby grave markers in the hilltop cemetery in Jumping Branch.
But winning the Powerball was a different kind of wealth that brought instant celebrity status.
Whittaker's struggles with drinking, gambling and philandering became public, and tales of his transgressions were retold with relish.
His home and car were repeatedly burglarized. At a strip club, thieves broke into his Lincoln Navigator and stole a briefcase stuffed with $245,000 in $100 bills and three $100,000 cashiers checks. The briefcase was later found, with the money.
Whittaker was charged twice with driving while under the influence and sued repeatedly, once by three female casino employees who accused him of assault.
Whittaker is also done with boozing — which, on his worst days, involved a fifth of vodka. He says he drank in part because he was worried about granddaughter Brandi Bragg, who shared his independent, headstrong personality and knew from a young age she wanted to run her Paw Paw's businesses.
So sad....
GOD, I feel so sorry for jack.I wonder if jack ever reads this lottery post websight.i know of a person that hit for 18 million dollars in the new yok lottery.this person ,like jack doesn't trust anyone .funny how all of us in here would love to win a lottery.i guess that saying ''be carefull what you wish for,you just might get it'' comes to mine.
To play or not to play, that is the question.
Am I the only one here who is irritated by the fact that someone already worth millions won the lottery? That's like when Jennifer Lopez's mom hit a million dollar slot machine jackpot. Sometimes I think God likes to have fun with us, perhaps because he knows it doesn't really mean anything.
Don't be ridiculous. The majority of Lottery winners go on to live very happy lives. Regarding your friend, I understand what it's like not to trust people, but those are the people you don't want in your life anyway.
Miss NYC, I guess it just goes to show you that anyone can win. I agree that it's frustrating when people with everything just get more and more of what they don't need. I just saw Todd's post below, and I agree that Mr. Whittaker handled his money very foolishly. It's a very sad story nonetheless. Anyway, your comment reminds me of some Yiddish proverbs about money. Here are the rough translations:
God loves the poor and He helps the rich.
Money is round so it rolls away.
Life is the cheapest bargain. You get it for nothing.
A great one for the Lottery:
Hope may give man strength, but not sense.
My favorite of all:
If the rich could hire someone to die for them, the poor would make a wonderful living.
The guy is/was a self-made millionaire (on paper). This is the kind of person -- at least work-ethic-wise -- that we want in this country, no? I look at it that "someone up there" was rewarding him for his hard work and determination.
The fact that he has a sad life now is a testament to his lack of common sense.
Mr. Sense had been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable Parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
So sad as there was nothing common about Common Sense
Awesome post, hearsetrax!
I think you're right about that spilled-coffee award. I think that was the legal event that opened the floodgates -- when lawyers realized that the citizens of this country were willing to award millions of dollars to people who made dumb mistakes and hurt themselves.
hello justxploring.....what i was trying to say ,was just to have a plan ready to go if you were to hit big ,or a plan B for that matter
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.
While I agree with the rest of your post, please look up the facts of the case since it looks like you don't know them.
No. Common sense vanished when folks started listening to one-sided views of reality and stopped checking out things for themselves (or applying a little common sense). The McDonald's case is a good example. Did you know that this store intentionally prepared the coffee to such an extreme temperature that no rational person would even think about taking it into their car if they knew about it; that the store had been repeatedly warned about it. Did you know that this woman did not just burn herself, but that the coffee destroyed skin, musle and tendons; that she required several operations and skin grafts and is permanently disfigured and disabled (limits on motions) AND that the award did not even cover the medical costs. She still ended up with medical bills (though likely fogiven).
As for the other things - do you really want to set up a theocracy in the U.S. and get rid of the free America that we all used to love? A boy kissing a girl - you know there must have been much more than that cute little headline portrayed. And the kids were likely filling those mouth wash bottles with vodka and Kool-Aide. Just not using common sense to believe every newspaper article.
We certainly all have different views about how the nation should be run and we can all agree that there are issues that need to be solved - but we don't need to make up any more problems, heh?
From what I understand, she was in her 80s and underwent numerous skin grafts. When the jury was shown the photographs and listened to the real story, they decided she had suffered and awarded her a lot of money. There had been several other lawsuits for over a decade that were settled quietly. This is what happens when the media gets a hold of a story.
I agree there many be many frivolous lawsuits, but most of them never make it to court. Many years ago I was seriously injured by a doctor, resulting in permanent nerve damage, and I can't begin to tell you how difficult it is to get anything settled, even just to get your medical expenses covered. I knew a woman who collected $500,000 from Home Depot due to their carelessness. There really wasn't any legal battle at all, since they settled quickly, but I heard all sorts of comments from coworkers, just like the spilled coffee ones. Everytime someone joked about going to Home Depot and slipping in an aisle, they forgot to mention how many knee operations this woman had and the metal plate in her leg.
The case is Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, P.T.S., Inc., No. D-202 CV-93-02419, 1995 WL 360309 (Bernalillo County, N.M. Dist. Ct. Aug. 18, 1994). McDonald’s had settled more than 700 burn cases before this one came up – some of them settled for up to $500,000. The woman had asked for $20,000 from McDonald’s but was refused. The jury found her 20% negligent. I checked on the facts and found that the medical costs were not as high as I had remembers. Guess I need to check my facts too. But she receive third-degree burns (require grafting) over 6% of her body; she was hospitalized for 8 days and followed up with two years of treatment. I see these issues as one of common sense. Would a reasonable person accept the risk of taking the product into the car with full knowledge of the potential result. Most folks accept the risk of a nasty burn (pain and redness for a few days) if they spill their coffee. I don’t think anyone would accept the coffee if they were advised that they would need skin grafts if the coffee tipped over. In this case, McDonald’s created a situation that no reasonable person was aware of and so was responsible for the risk. My usual test on awards is whether I would accept the cash in exchange for the injury. If you would not, then the cash is probably not excessive. In the McDonald’s case, the jury awarded $200,000 and then reduced that by 20%. They did award her two-days worth of coffee sales as a punitive award ($2.7 million), but the judge reduced that to $480,000. In fact, McDonald’s still refused to pay and settled for less than the total award (secret amount).
Jack was already a millionare before winning the lottery. Did people prior to winning the lottery constantly ask for money from Jack. Was his homes and vehichles broken into for money prior to winning.
His private life was only known by a few.
Does winning the lottery put a different mentality in people towards the person that won.