Why This Man Killed Himself Within Just 2 Years of Winning $31 Million

Did Billie Bob know that he would 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 worked as a stockboy at Home Depot in northeast Harris County. But before working there, he was laid off from a couple of jobs.

Time was against him, and his income was barely enough to meet his ends. So, he was thinking a lot about how to earn more money to run his family smoothly.

As Bob was a deeply religious person, probably the religious spirit in him encouraged Bob to believe in luck. What else can a man do when the time is against him? So, every Wednesday and Saturday, Bob would gather a few dollars and purchase some lottery tickets to try his luck.

He used to 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 happened in Bob’s life.

Then on June 28, 1997, the god of wealth bestowed the blessings on Billie Bob Harrell Jr. and 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. Each family member 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, he was ready to give them cash.

Bob was overjoyed by the sudden attention he was getting from people because of his money. And as you can imagine, his spending habit quickly went out of control.

At one point, Bob 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 went downhill. His children also found Bob as a moody and depressive dad. Their loving dad was missing in their life.

Finally, in 1998, Barbara Jean divorced Billie Bob with an attorney’s help and created an agreement to split the lottery winnings.

Bob’s life became a living hell. 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 was that he got involved with a company named Stone Street Capital. This 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 fell into their trap.

While mentioning this deal, an article on Lotto Analyst explained where it took a terrible turn,— “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 suicidal deal, but Bob listened to none. He was desperate.

Bob was living his worst life. He realized his mistakes very late.

Being deeply unhappy and lonely, he wanted to reconcile with his ex-wife. But Barbara Jean refused him 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 went there a little early and locked himself in the grand bedroom. Then he pressed a shotgun barrel against his chest — and fired.

When everyone reached 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 think that Bob’s case is a rare one. But in reality, it isn’t. He is not alone. Many people like him lose 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, and women. Their marriages fall apart. They lose their friends and relatives and finally become lonely and depressed. Many of them even die of suicide, just like Billie Bob Harrel Jr.

And all of the above confirms the saying — “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.

Thank you for reading.