A lottery winner has sparked a heated family feud over a ‘selfish’ act by refusing to split her jackpot with her brother.
The woman detailed how she recently won a ‘small’ lottery jackpot, enough to pay off her student loans and treat herself to a few things she had wanted for years.
But now she’s in a pickle after her sibling started demanding that she buy him a new car upon learning about her winnings.
‘My sibling, who’s been struggling financially, heard about my win and immediately started asking me to help with his bills and even to buy him a new car,’ she said in a Reddit thread.
‘I want to help him but I also feel like I’ve worked hard for this money and want to enjoy it myself.
‘I told him I’d consider giving him a small gift but not a handout.’
However, her gesture didn’t sit well with her brother.
‘Now they’re upset and saying I’m being selfish,’ she explained.
‘I genuinely want to help but I also don’t want to feel obligated to support them.’
She asked the internet whether she was an ‘a**h***’ for wanting to keep most of her lottery winnings to herself.
Many agreed with her decision not to share her money with her ‘entitled’ sibling.
‘Paying off your student loans is a good idea. Sibling is entitled. A small gift and dinner would be reasonable. Asking for a car is not. If you start helping with bills now, they’ll keep expecting it,’ one said.
‘It’s perfectly ok to own that you have your own plans for your money… You could say Santa might be generous at Christmas for those who don’t act spoiled or entitled… but Santa ain’t buying nobody any cars,’ another suggested.
‘It’s understandable that you want to enjoy the fruits of your hard work and treat yourself after winning the lottery. While it’s nice to want to help your sibling, you’re not obligated to share your winnings, especially if it feels like they’re expecting a handout rather than asking for support in a healthy way,’ one added.
Some suggested she should pay off her debts and invest the rest, while others argued she deserved to keep all the money because she ‘worked hard’ to earn it and she spent her ‘hard earned cash on lotto tickets’.
Many pointed out she should never have told anyone, including family, about her lottery win.
‘You’re not the a**h***. But this is why you tell no one when you win money,’ one said.
‘Did your brother ever offer to split the cost of the non-winning lottery tickets you bought? Because if he didn’t want to share the costs, he doesn’t get any of the rewards. You’re not the a**h*** except that you shouldn’t have told anyone about your win,’ another shared.
It is unclear how much money the woman won.
But one parent suggested: ‘If it was paying off your student loans, getting a new car and having $100,000 still left over, I would want my kids to help one another out so long as they have a good relationship.’
