The story of the young man who became a millionaire at the age of 21. “I didn't even know what to do with so much money”

Timothy Shultz won in 1999 the biggest prize in Powerball, a lottery in the United States – 28 million dollars. “I didn't want to become a statistic of lottery winners going bankrupt,” he told Business Insider, which documented his story.

Shultz, now 47, earned $28 million in 1999 while working at a gas station and “retired” a multimillionaire at 21. In order not to end up among the unlucky ones who eventually lose all their money, he made a very clear plan.

Consulting financial specialists was Shultz's first step after winning the Powerball

“All of a sudden, I went from working at a gas station to being retired at 21. I felt like I was holding a magic wand. Everything was possible, but I also wanted to be financially responsible,” Timothy Shultz told Business Insider in a 2024 interview.

He stated that “at 21 I had no idea what to do with all that money and I was lucky I sought professional guidance. I didn't want to end up a statistic of lottery winners going broke in a few years.”

Before filing the ticket, he said he consulted financial specialists to understand how much he could afford to spend and give to others.

Investments helped him preserve his wealth

Before he received any money, he worked out with his financial advisers a plan to invest it so that the returns would last him a lifetime – “I invested mostly in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.”

Emily Irwin, a counselor who guides lottery winners on how to spend their money, said in an interview with Business Insider that this is exactly what other winners should do.

She also recommended the formation of a team of financial planners as quickly as possible, but that they should be very well documented beforehand.

What did the winner do with the money

The first thing Shultz bought with the money was the newest video game system. A luxury, he said, “I couldn't afford before I won.” Then he made his investments.

He said he helped his family, bought cars and traveled. He even went back to college to study film and television journalism. But he was surrounded by other students who were struggling financially, so he paid for his friends' vacations, meals, or activities.

“When you win the lottery, people don't see the money as something you earned through work. A relative told me directly that I got something for free by winning the lottery and that I should continue to give money to them and others,” the man said.

The only regret

These days, Timothy Shultz says he spends most of his free time playing sports and working on his 155,000-watch podcast and YouTube channel — “Lottery, Dreams, and Fortune” — which tells the stories of other lottery winners.

Even though he made very good investment choices, he still regrets missing out on one particular investment: “I wish I had invested in bitcoin a few years ago, but that's my only regret about how I spent the money I made.”