Colin Weir and his then-wife Chris Weir won one of the biggest EuroMillions jackpots ever in 2011. They won £161 million, which changed their lives and led Colin to go on a spending spree that lasted for years.
Colin Weir and his then-wife Chris celebrated his EuroMillions win in 2011, which changed their lives. Before he died in 2019 from sepsis and other complications, Weir spent most of his money.
The Weirs lived in North Ayrshire, Scotland. He worked as a camera operator for a local TV station, and she was a psychiatric nurse. In July 2011, they won the EuroMillions jackpot, which was worth about $257.6 million (£161.65 million) before taxes.
After the jackpot kept going up, the couple said they bought five Lucky Dips tickets. Colin and Chris both had health problems that made it hard for them to work, so the win couldn’t have come at a better time for them.
The couple quit their day jobs and spent their money as a hobby. The Weirs paid £3.5 million for Frognal House, an old mansion in Troon that sits on 16 acres. They spent £1.1 million on another house in Ayr. Both houses got a lot of work done to them.
The Weirs also acquired numerous luxury cars, lavish jewelry, and expensive artwork. The marriage soured, however, and Colin and Chris decided to go their separate ways in 2018.
Spending Spree
After his divorce, Colin Weir’s health deteriorated quickly. That’s when he decided to spend nearly all of his remaining wealth, which was around £40 million at the time.
He bought numerous high-end automobiles, including a vintage Bentley, and purchased three thoroughbred racehorses.
Weir’s biggest spend was buying a 55% stake in the Partick Thistle Football Club. The professional soccer club plays out of Glasgow and competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Weir built the team a new training ground and youth development academy.
Weir pledged to gift back his shares to the fans following his death to return Partick Thistle to a fan-owned franchise. Weir’s Partick Thistle mission was fulfilled with his death in late 2019.
Sepsis and “acute kidney injury” were cited for his death. Sepsis is the body’s extreme life-threatening response to an infection.
Along with his lavish spending, Weir gave heavily to political causes, including the Scottish National Party and its failed efforts to establish independence.
After his death, Weir’s heirs discovered that little money was left. There were, however, investment stakes in publicly traded companies, with holdings in Microsoft, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Estee Lauder, Tesco, AG Barr, and bakery chain Greggs.
Those investments totaled only £102K. Weir’s estate eventually concluded that he was spending about £100K a week during the final year of his life to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
EuroMillions Lottery Leader
In Europe, EuroMillions is the continent’s Mega Millions and Powerball — the richest and one of the most popular lottery games.
The transnational lottery challenges players to pick the seven drawn numbers to claim the jackpot. Weir’s winning numbers were 17, 19, 38, 42, and 45. The Lucky Stars were 9 and 10. The odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are one in nearly 140 million.
Unlike Powerball and Mega Millions, EuroMillions caps the jackpot at £230 million. If the jackpot isn’t won by the time the prize climbs to that amount, the rollover money is allocated toward the next jackpot.
The post EuroMillions Winner Blew Through £161M Fortune Before Death appeared first on Casino.org.
Rephrased by The Mystic Gambler
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