David Lee Edwards, who won a share of the $27 million (£21m) Powerball jackpot in 2001, died broke at age 58. Within five years of his win, he had squandered his entire fortune and ended up living in a storage shed contaminated with human excrement.
A Lavish Spending Spree
Edwards, an unemployed ex-offender from Ashland, Kentucky, initially vowed to accept his winnings with humility. He told reporters at the time: "You know, a lot of people, they're out of work. Doesn't have hardly anything. And so I didn't want to accept this money by saying I'm going to get mansions and I'm going to get cars, I'm going to do this and that. I would like to accept it with humility."
But within a year of his win, he had spent nearly £9m. He married Shawna Maddux in Malibu, California, and the couple partied lavishly, buying a sprawling home, a private jet, and a fleet of luxury cars, including a £67,000 Dodge Viper and a £160,000 Lamborghini Diablo.
Rapid Financial Ruin
They also spent £1.5m on a tennis and golf resort in Palm Beach, Florida, plus a neighboring estate. Millions more went into a limousine business, thoroughbred horses, and a fiber optics installation firm that cost £3.3m.
Within just five years, Edwards was broke. He and his wife ended up living in a storage unit in California, which reports said was covered in human excrement.
Health Decline and Death
Edwards, who had spent a third of his life in prison for armed robbery, had struggled with substance abuse. His addiction began after a car accident, when he was prescribed OxyContin for chronic back pain. He later contracted hepatitis from contaminated syringes and was arrested for possessing crack cocaine.
After his wife left him and remarried, she helped him get into a hospice, where he died at 58. His daughter, Tiffani, later criticized his ex-wife, saying: "Shawna just started acting crazy. It was drugs that's all. People kept telling my dad he should get rid of her but he never could. He tried to get her into rehab and she went a few times. He told me, near the end, that his one regret was not getting rid of Shawna and looking after himself but they were hooked on each other. And then they were just hooked on drugs."
No Money Left Behind
Tiffani said her father had promised to set aside $1 million for her, but she received nothing after his death. In a Facebook post, she wrote: "There is NO MONEY anywhere! ! ! !" She added that they held a modest funeral, which she didn't want to become a "circus like his life was."
Reflecting on her father, she said: "He was a good man. I know he made wrong choices but he was a good man. Would he still be alive if he hadn't won? Yes, I think he would."
