Entrepreneur Andrew Hulbert, 39, became a multimillionaire overnight in 2023 after selling his company Pareto Facilities Management to a private equity firm. The sale deposited tens of millions of pounds into his bank account, but instead of relief, he felt guilt, unease, and an overwhelming sense of the future.
“Of course I knew that the business was worth money, but it's only when someone pays you for it that it's worth anything. No one prepares you for the moment; even thinking about it now sends shivers through me,” Hulbert told The Times. In the days after the deal, he bought a £100,000 bright yellow McLaren 570S without a test drive, but soon discovered his 6ft 3in frame didn’t fit the bucket seats. He sold the supercar six months later at a £10,000 loss.
Specialists describe this as “sudden wealth syndrome,” a psychological phenomenon affecting those who receive large windfalls from business sales, inheritance, cryptocurrency, or lottery wins. Jessica McGawley of Dallington Associates said the condition is widespread: “People roll their eyes and get out their tiny violins when I describe it, but it's very real. There's an assumption that sudden wealth is the answer to everything, but I often see people completely out of their depth.”
Hulbert, who grew up on a council estate near Oxford, said his working-class roots fueled his ambition but also left him anxious about managing extreme wealth responsibly. He sought professional support before the sale, spending eight weeks with a psychologist. “If I hadn't done that, I would have woken up aimless, listless, depressed, with no point any more,” he said.
Instead of a lavish lifestyle, Hulbert took the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William, drove to the northernmost point of Skye, and prioritised time with his wife and young children. McGawley warns the issue will worsen as over-65s collectively own more than £2.5 trillion in property wealth, with many families failing to prepare heirs emotionally. “Most successful families are very good at preparing the wealth for their children, but they're not so good at preparing their children for the wealth,” she said.
