Billionaire Mark Cuban has some advice for the eventual winner of a record-breaking Powerball lottery that’s up to $1.5 billion: “Tell all your friends and relatives no.”
Mr. Cuban, who sold Broadcast.com in 1999 to Yahoo for $5.7 billion, gave a mixture of practical and philosophical tips on what it’s like to suddenly become incredibly wealthy, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“Tell all your friends and relatives no. They will ask. Tell them no,” Mr. Cuban told the newspaper. “If you are close to them, you already know who needs help and what they need. Feel free to help SOME, but talk to your accountant before you do anything and remember this, no one needs 1m dollars for anything. No one needs 100k for anything. Anyone who asks is not your friend.”
“If you weren’t happy yesterday, you won’t be happy tomorrow. It’s money. It’s not happiness,” he said. “If you were happy yesterday, you are going to be a lot happier tomorrow. It’s money. Life gets easier when you don’t have to worry about the bills.”
The Dallas Mavericks owner also advised the lucky winner-to-be to hire a tax attorney and to avoid taking the winnings in a lump sum so as not to risk blowing it all “in one spot.”
“You don’t become a smart investor when you win the lottery. Don’t make investments. You can put it in the bank and live comfortably. Forever. You will sleep a lot better knowing you won’t lose money,” Mr. Cuban said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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