Five “Impossibly Strange” Personal Finance Disasters That Actually Happened

Financial mishaps occur quite often in the world and while some of these are your typical money problems, others are bizarre and bewildering. Situations like these are uncommon and often are downright impossible to predict. Here are a few people who lost their money in strange and unusual ways that would undoubtedly lead them on the path to financial ruin.

1. British man leaves £80,000 pension on car roof, drives off

In this story, a man took his life savings out of his house to put in his car so he could keep an eye on it while at work. While he was unlocking the vehicle, he inadvertently forgot about his money that was still sitting on the roof and drove off. After realizing his mistake, he took his grandson on a search for the money about 6 hours later, though they came up empty handed. During an interview he said he had set back £2,000 a year just to save up that much money. The only trace that was found was a empty plastic bag that the money was initially wrapped in. [1]

2. Man gambles $127 million in a year and loses it

Over the course of a year, Terrance Watanabe lost part of his fortune that he amassed from a party-favor business venture to a Harrah’s Hotel and Casino. It’s believed that his loss could be one of the biggest in Las Vegas history and, on top of that, he faced criminal charges. He was charged on three counts of attempting to defraud and steal from Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. Watanabe claimed the casino had vowed to give him cash back on his losses if he went over $500,000, though he never saw a penny. [2]

A year later his debt was settled for a fraction of what he actually owed the casino — $1.4 million of the $14.7 million. Harrah’s considered this to be around 10% of the fast cash loan he had borrowed from the casino. [3, 4] All-in-all the casino made around 5.6% of its total revenue from Watanabe in a single year. [2]

3. Woman wins $4.2 million but needed a loan for bills

In 1993 Suzanne Mullins won a $4.2 million lottery, took the 20 annual payments of $47,800 and promised to split it with her husband and daughter. Her son-in-law took ill, accrued $1 million in medical bills and over the course of five years she proceeded to lose it all. She had previously used her future earnings as collateral for fast cash in the form of a $200,000 loan. [5, 6]

4. One of the biggest jackpots in history turns into misery

In a multi-state lottery Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. won $315 million, having already owned a million dollar construction company. Many remember his valiant vow to give 10% of the winnings to Christian charities. He did a great number of good deeds, though eventually he was arrested — twice — for drunk driving. Whittaker was also sued for being inappropriate with a woman at the dog race tracks. While in a strip club thieves stole $545,000 of his fortune from his car and another $200,000 from his vehicle a year later.

After he was sued for $1.5 million by a casino, he was divorced by his wife and lost his granddaughter and daughter. After all was said and done he told reporters “I wish I’d torn that ticket up.” [5]

5. A generous woman gives all of her money away and then some

Janite Lee, winner of a 1993 lottery for $18 million, gave the majority of her fortune to government sanctioned programs and various other political causes. A woman that had been invited to the White House to meet Bill Clinton and at one point gave $1 million to build a new library at Washington University was now broke. In addition to her generous nature, she had a gambling addiction that plagued her and eventually costed her $347,000 over the course of a year. She eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2001. [7]

Conclusion

These people may have lost their money in extreme circumstances but it doesn’t make debt any less attainable to the average person. If you do find yourself in hot water, consider all your financial options and use your judgement to find the most viable option for your needs.

Sources

[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332644/Pensioner-leaves-80-000-roof-car-Westcliff-Sea.html

[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125996714714577317.html

[3] http://www.lvrj.com/news/high-roller-strikes-deal-with-harrah-s-over–14-7-million-gambling-debt-98034649.html

[4] http://www.cashnetusa.com/fast-cash/fast-cash-loans.html

[5] http://www.oddee.com/item_97101.aspx

[6] http://www.cashnetusa.com/fastcash.html

[7] http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/10/the-10-worst-lottery-win-disasters/janite-lee