4. Billie Bob Harrell Jr.
Much like many, Billie Bob Harrell Jr., the number 4 on our list of worst lottery winner horror stories, was struggling to make ends meat before he hit the Texas Lotto Jackpot for $31 million. And like many who win such large amounts of money, he began to attract the unwanted attention of complete strangers asking for handouts.
While Billie was pretty generous with his winnings—donating large sums to churches and charities, and even nearly 500 turkeys which he donated to the poor—the attention began to get the better of him. Trying to lead a normal life, he was forced to change his number repeatedly. Yet people would still call.
Less than one year after his win, he and his wife separated. Although it is not certain why she left, it may have been that it was the only way she could think of to escape all that unwanted harassment. This only made Billie even more miserable. Only two years after he had cashed in, his son found him dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Shortly before his death, he had claimed that winning the lottery was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
