He won the lottery and his brother hired a hitman to kill him
The attack against him, planned by his brother, was carried out, but lottery winner William Post III managed to survive. Despite this, his bad investments made him declare bankruptcy years later.
We’ve all heard the phrase that “money can’t buy happiness,” and in the case of this William Post III, known as Bud, that very much rings true.
Bud, a Pennsylvania native, won $16.2 million in the lottery in 1988, and managed to spend the entire pot in a matter of months. After winning big he would spend up spending time behind bars, and even survive an assassination attempt planned by his brother.
This episode that almost ended in tragedy began when Bud earned $40 after pawning a ring and decided to spend the money on lottery tickets. Just his luck, one of these tickets had the winning numbers, but that did not secure him a life of ease, as many might expect.
Living in the lap of luxury
Upon winning and receiving his cash prize, his nightmare began. Bud’s first purchases were a twin-engine plane, which he bought without having a pilot’s license, and a business for his brother. In statements collected by La Vanguardia, his bankruptcy lawyer, John Lacher, warned that the decisions Bud was making were not the best, saying that “he did everything you would expect of a guy who becomes a millionaire overnight.”
A hitman could not end his life
Three months after receiving the money, he was $500,000 in debt. As if this were not enough, he discovered that one of his brothers had hired a hitman to kill him and his sixth wife. Bud’s brother had attempted to carry out the murder to claim the inheritance and thus continue collecting the prize in his name.
The attack against him was carried out, but the Pennsylvanian couple survived. However, Bud’s good luck ended there, and in the following years, he continued to make bad investments until declaring bankruptcy. And, in 1992, when a debt collector visited him, Bud shot at him, and after six years of refusing to serve his prison sentence, he was arrested in 1998.
“I was happiest when I was broke”
After years of racking up debt and making poor investments, Bud depended on disability payments for the last few years of his life.
“I was much happier when I was broke...Everyone dreams of making money, but no one notices the nightmares that arise,”
Bud died of respiratory failure in 2006 at age 66, leaving behind his seventh wife and nine children from his second marriage.
This is just one story of many whose lottery fortune does not translate into an easy life after winning. Bud’s story is a reminder that money cannot solve all your problems, and in some cases, it can bring with it new struggles that you never imagined possible.