'19-year-old tycoon' has bad luck because of 314 billion, life changes horribly in 8 years

Born into a poor family in the East of England, Michael Carroll had to collect trash with his parents to make a living since he was a child. In Michael Carroll's mind at that time, eating a cheeseburger with fries was a distant dream.

However, in 2002, when Michael Carroll turned 19, his life suddenly took a new turn that even he himself could not believe. In a moment of despair due to his family's poverty, Michael Carroll bet his last $1 on a lottery ticket of the UK Lottery.

As a result, he won the jackpot with a sum of up to 9,736,131 pounds (nearly 314 billion VND). From an unknown, poor student, after one night, Michael Carroll became a billionaire, appearing on all the news in the foggy country, making millions of people jealous.

The first thing Michael Carroll did after receiving this huge amount of money was to quit his job at the garbage collection company. Sharing with the press at that time, Michael Carroll said he would donate part of the winnings to charity organizations, and buy his parents a 3-bedroom apartment - something that had been Michael Carroll's dream since he was a child.

After a while, when the news of the 19-year-old winning the jackpot gradually faded into oblivion, no one cared about how Michael Carroll used the nearly 10 million pounds that "fell from the sky".

After 8 years, in 2010, information about Michael Carroll appeared in the newspapers again. However, this time, no one was jealous of Michael Carroll's old luck anymore. Everyone was shocked and stunned by Michael Carroll's life at the age of 29.

It is known that Michael Carroll got married not long after winning the lottery. When the marriage entered the second year, Michael Carroll's wife "packed up and ran away" with her daughter because she could not stand Michael Carroll's depravity.

She said: "His lifestyle makes me sick. He indulges in sick pleasures. He betrays me because there are hundreds of other girls around - who are willing to do anything he wants to earn a few thousand dollars in just a few hours. He spends money on all the craziest pleasures in this world. My daughter and I have long since ceased to exist in his mind."

With this marriage broken, the court ruled that Michael Carroll must pay £1.5 million in maintenance to his wife and daughter. However, with the amount of nearly £10 million he suddenly had, £1.5 million is just a small amount.

Michael Carroll continued his bad lifestyle afterwards, without any regrets about not having his wife and daughter in his life. Not only did he waste money on fleeting, harmful pleasures, Michael Carroll also spent a lot of money on luxury goods and supercars.

By 2013, after more than a decade of living like a billionaire and being in and out of jail multiple times for using illegal substances, Michael Carroll officially declared bankruptcy. He had to receive unemployment benefits and at the same time, returned to work as a garbage collector to make a living.

Now, more than 22 years after winning the jackpot, Michael Carroll is working as a coal and wood delivery man earning £10 an hour (about the same as a coal and wood delivery job earning £10).

Sharing about his current life, Micheal Carroll sadly said: "What comes easily also goes easily. Perhaps, being bankrupt is the best thing that has happened to me. Now, I am living like a normal person and that really makes me happy."

Austrian writer Zweig once said: "Fate never gives anyone a free gift".

Looking at what Michael Carroll has received, experienced and how he is living in the present, perhaps more than ever, people realize the hidden price behind the seemingly free gift that fate has given him.

Becoming rich is the goal and dream of everyone, without exception. But some people become rich through their own efforts and hard work; others become rich through "luck" - like Michael Carroll.

The biggest difference between these two groups of rich people is probably the ability to control their desires, to continue to maintain and develop the assets they have in hand.

When a person escapes poverty by luck, they easily think that fate has favored them once and will favor them forever. On the other hand, a person who escapes poverty by self-effort is different. They understand that nothing in life is free or comes naturally; it is impossible to stop trying to indulge in debauchery and waste money. Because of the sweat and effort put in, if you do not know how to appreciate it, it is difficult to become rich sustainably.

Human desires are endless. Some people say that only money can make people happy, only money can solve the insecurities and worries in life. But with money, how many people can continue to make efforts, control themselves to live consciously, not let money control their thinking, decide every action from big to small?

Without money, life is difficult to be full and prosperous. But having a lot of money does not necessarily mean lasting, sustainable happiness.

After all, money is just a tool, money cannot replace anyone to live a human life. The losers, unfortunately, are those who always believe that having money means having everything, and then one day, lose everything!

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