34-year-old refuses to divvy up his lottery winnings with his money-grubbing extended family after getting guilt-tripped over setting aside savings for his kid's college fund: ‘My aunt said I was forgetting my roots’

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 18, 2025 9:00 PM EST

Loyalty is only skin-deep, but when it comes to money, even bloodlines get a little blurred. This man recently won a life-changing amount of money from the lottery, but after a family gathering, suddenly, it looked more like OUR winnings instead of his. And once you divvy up a big pile of cash between 40 people, it's no longer the life-altering amount you'd dreamed of. 

Altruism is important in our social circles—especially in your family. We help out our younger siblings with math homework and sacrifice our weekends for some nephew's baseball tournament. When it comes to family, a lot of us will go above and beyond. However, when it comes to financial matters, generosity can be a bit harder to fathom. So when this guy won the lottery after years of playing, he mistakenly shared his good fortune with his immediate family members. To help them out with a few urgent bills and debts, he agreed to help his closest family members with their problems—but unfortunately, with the smell of cash in the water, the sharks started to circle. 

Read on to see how this newfound wealth drove a wedge between a guy and his money-grubbing extended family. 

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    via Georgijvec

    (The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.)

    Even the most level-headed people seem to lose themselves when they're blinded by money. It's just little shreds of green paper. should we really be burning bridges in the family over it? Perhaps money could solve a lot of life's problems, but at what cost? 

  • "AITA for refusing to share my lottery winnings with my extended family?"

    I (34M) recently won a significant amount in the lottery. It was a life-changing amount, but not the kind where you end up on the Forbes list. After paying off debts and setting up college funds for my kids, I've planned to invest the rest for future security.
    via BrithneyBandit
  • My family has always been pretty close-knit, and we've supported each other through tough times. Since my win, I've helped my immediate family (parents and siblings) with some major bills and financial issues. I thought everyone would be happy with this arrangement.
    via BrithneyBandit
  • However, at a family gathering last week, one of my uncles brought up the idea of me giving each family member a portion of the winnings. This includes distant cousins, second cousins, and even family friends, amounting to over 30 people. I laughed it off initially, thinking it was a joke.
    via BrithneyBandit
  • But then several family members approached me throughout the night, mentioning how much they could use the money to ease their lives.
    via BrithneyBandit
  • I got frustrated and finally announced that I had no intention of splitting my winnings further and believed what I'd already given was enough. This caused a huge uproar. Some family members
    via BrithneyBandit
  • accused me of being selfish and greedy, and my aunt even said I was forgetting my roots and those who stood by me during my lowest lows. Now, I feel cornered and upset.
    via BrithneyBandit
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    via pixelshot

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I believe I should be allowed to enjoy the fruits of my (admittedly lucky) labor without being deemed an ATM. My partner thinks I should ignore them and do what's best for our immediate family, but the tension has made me second- guess whether I'm being unfair.
    via BrithneyBandit
  • AITA for wanting to keep the rest of my lottery winnings to myself and not distribute them among my extended family and friends?
    via BrithneyBandit
  • susanbarron33 NTA it's never a good idea to tell family about money you come into. There are always going to be greedy people coming out.
    via susanbarron33
  • Ok_Incident8962 What did they do when 'standing by you at your lowest?' Did they give you free places to live, a used car, help pay bills or tuition? In that case by all means come up with a way to repay. Were they just a sympathetic ear in a rough time? Maybe offer to cater the annual get together. But second cousins
    via Ok_Incident8962
  • Mother_Search3350 Go to the local gas station and buy each of them a $5 scratcher, hand them.out at the next family gathering and be done with the BS Definitely NTAH
    via Mother_Search3350
  • ManagementFinal3345 NTA. Splitting the money so many ways would make it worthless eventually. You have a RARE probably once in a life time opportunity to really stabilize your life, provide for your children, get out of debt, and set your immediate family up for success. The fact that
    via ManagementFinal3345
  • you helped YOUR parents and siblings does not entitled a third cousin twice removed to your money or 30 other people who are far removed from you. Your money is not "the family money" it is yours alone.
    via ManagementFinal3345
  • Your family has no right to dictate what you do with it or demand how you spend it. Your wife, your children, and your parents are the only people who are your immediate family and the only people you have a moral responsibility to help.
    via ManagementFinal3345
  • blooming Thorns "I think your family needs a lesson in the concept of 'my money, my choice"."
    via blooming Thorns
  • Vegoia2 I would've laughed at the uncle who wanted all your money split between the losers, does he do stand up or is just a a grifter?
    via Vegoia2
  • BeetFarmHijinks ⚫ NTA because it will NEVER be enough. If you give everyone $10,000, next year Uncle Moneygrubber will make a bold announcement that times are really hard and you have the cash, so you need to step up and give everyone another $10,000, "because Family helps faaaaamily". Ilt will NEVER be enough.
    via BeetFarmHijinks

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