Why This Man Killed Himself Within Just 2 Years of Winning $31 Million
This tragic story of Billie Bob Harrell Jr. will teach you a lot about life and happiness.
Photo of Billie Bob Harrel Jr. Photo Source: baklol
Did Billie Bob know that he was going to shoot himself in the chest and die within just two years of winning the Lotto Texas jackpot of $31 million?
Before June 1997, Billie Bob Harrell Jr. was just another man struggling to maintain his family. He had a wife and three teenage children to feed with his poor income. And the time was extremely cruel.
He worked as a stockboy at Home Depot in northeast Harris County. But before working there, he had been laid off from a couple of jobs.
Though there was a great shortage of money in his family, he used to live a comparatively peaceful life. I mean, he had a loving wife and three beautiful children. Moreover, he was a deeply religious man.
Maybe the religious spirit in him encouraged Bob to believe in luck. What else could a man do when the time is against him? That’s why every Wednesday and Saturday, Bob would gather a few dollars and purchase some lottery tickets to try his luck.
He would choose the lottery numbers either — based on his children’s birth dates sequence or the computer’s random selection.
Days were coming and going, but nothing significant was happening in Bob’s life.
Then on June 28, 1997, the god of wealth bestowed the blessings on Billie Bob Harrell Jr. as he won $31 million in the Lotto Texas jackpot.
At the age of 47, Bob became a millionaire overnight. And it was beyond his wildest dream.
“I wasn’t going to give up,” Bob reacted after winning the lottery. “Everyone kept telling me it would get better. I didn’t realize it would get this much better.”
From nobody, he became the talk of the town. But what did Bob do with all that free money?
After winning the Lotto Texas jackpot, Bob purchased a ranch and a half-dozen homes. Moreover, each of the family members got new cars and their lifestyle dramatically changed.
Bob made huge contributions to his church and the members of the congregation. If people came to Bob for help, Bob was ready to give them cash.
He was enjoying the sudden attention he was getting from people because of his money.
As you can imagine, his spending habit quickly went out of control. Even he started dating a younger girl. And to impress her, he bought the girl a brand new car and expensive jewelry.
The whole thing impacted his married life very badly. His relationship with his wife, Barbara Jean, got worse that finally ended up in divorce in 1998. His children also found Bob as a moody and depressive dad. Their loving dad was missing in their life.
Barbara Jean not only arranged a separation with the help of an attorney, but she also created an agreement and split the lottery winnings.
Bob’s life became a living hell with all that money. He had no peace of mind or happiness. Instead of solving his life problems, more money brought him more and more problems.
The worse thing Bob did after the separation is that he got involved with a company named Stone Street Capital. That company told Bob that they would help him get a single lump sum payout for his lottery winnings, instead of the annual installments that he was getting.
Bob agreed because he needed the lump sum to repay his debt and continue his lavish lifestyle. But the harsh truth is the company was running a scam. So, when Bob hired Stone Street Capital to manage his money, he just fell into their trap.
While mentioning this deal, an article on Lotto Analyst explained where it took a terrible turn. It reads, — “The deal was that Harrell would immediately receive a lump sum of $2.25 million in cash from Stone Street Capital in exchange for 10 years’ worth of his half of the lottery winnings. Based on the math, Stone Street Capital would collect $6 million over 10 years — clearly a terrible deal for Harrell.”
People around him, including his family lawyer, told him not to get into this terrible deal, but Bob listened to none. He was desperate.
Despite winning millions of dollars, Bob was living his worst life. And at one point, he couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to reconcile with his ex-wife. But Barbara Jean refused by saying that he could only meet the family for dinner.
Bob agreed and on May 22, 1999, he went to her house for dinner. He reached there a little early and locked himself in his grand bedroom. Then he pressed a shotgun barrel against his chest — and fired.
When everyone was there, Bob was already dead. He ended his wealthy yet miserable life.
Bob left many notes. In one of them, he wrote his wife Barbara Jean — “I didn’t want this. I just wanted you.”
However, shortly before taking his own life, Bob confided to his financial advisor that winning the lottery was the worst thing that ever happened to him.
Maybe you are thinking that Bob’s case is a rare one. But in reality, it isn’t.
Billie Bob Harrel Jr. is not alone. Many people like him lost the charm of life just after making a fortune.
After winning a huge chunk of money in the lottery, many people get derailed from their life purpose or goals. They spend their money on drugs, gambling, women and ultimately, end up destroying themselves. Their marriages fall apart. They lose their friends and relatives and finally become lonely and depressed. Many of them even commit suicide just like Billie Bob Harrel Jr.
And all of the above confirms the sayings — “money can not buy happiness.”
Of course, without money, you cannot run a day. But at the same time, it’s also true that if you have much more money than what you actually need — it may destroy your mental peace and ruin your family and social life unless you possess strong money management skills.