Kürsat Yildrim, known as Chico, is Germany’s best-known lottery millionaire. After winning 10 million euros, he went on a luxury shopping spree. Does the fate of many other lottery winners catch up with him, who a short time later are faced with an empty account again? FOCUS online asked experts how best to manage such a sum.
Kürsat Yildrim, alias Chico, made a Porsche and a Ferrari as the first major purchase of his winnings. This means that Chico has barely spent more than ten percent of his new fortune – but there are still many voices of warning, alongside scorn and ridicule. But ten million euros is a large sum. You don’t get through them that quickly – but you don’t put them on correctly that quickly either.
But how are you supposed to handle such a chunk of money as a layman?
At the beginning there is the inventory, says Tom Friess, head of the VZ Vermögenszentrum: “Anyone who suddenly has so much money in their account must ask themselves how they want to live in the future. From this you can derive how much money you need to be well looked after for the rest of your life. And only then do you look at the rest.”
The first thing to do is to take stock: Anyone who wants to continue living their life as before is guided by their salary. Those who want to emigrate to Bali expect a little less, those who are drawn to the Coté Azur expect significantly more. Then you add inflation. Verena Oberer is spokeswoman for the state lottery and casino administration. She emphasizes: “Not every profit is enough to stop working. You have to calculate that carefully.”
You don’t have to do this alone, stresses Friess: “Get advice, a CEO doesn’t make decisions of this magnitude alone either.” Friess advises getting two or three offers from consultants first. “You don’t have to tell everything in these conversations or name the whole sum,” says Friess. “It’s more about determining whether the consultant fits your own ideas.”
And that also applies, although the lottery companies advise keeping quiet about the win, emphasizes Lotto Bayern spokeswoman Verena Oberer: “It’s true, we say ‘silence is golden’, because if I share information, I can’t get it back. Nevertheless we encourage our winners to seek advice.”
One thing is very important: “If someone tells you that you have to make a decision quickly, then hang up right away,” says Friess. “You have no time pressure, just leave the money there for a while.” The lottery consultant also emphasizes this: “You have time, the money is transferred and then the winner has all the time in the world to think about what to do with it .”
You don’t have to worry about inflation and fees right away either, says Friess: “It’s interesting, a few days ago you didn’t have any assets, today you have ten million and tomorrow you’re afraid that it will only be half Could.” Lotto Bayern spokeswoman Oberer also advises: “Take your time with your decisions, don’t let yourself be pushed and make a plan.”
So by the end of Step 1 you should have an idea of how much money you need for the rest of your life. “That’s the amount that you can’t spend immediately or invest at risk,” explains Friess. “For a normal employee, we’re probably around three to four million euros, which is enough to live as before until the end of life.” The right investments for this part of the new wealth are real estate, bonds and stocks.
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Next, the new millionaire should ask himself what he wants to do with the rest of his money: “There are many possibilities, you could invest in securities, real estate or start-ups or even found a company that gives presents to the family or get involved socially,” explains Friess.
According to Friess, the question of the “fun” expenses only comes at the end: “It’s better if you have secured your desired long-term quality of life first. Then you know exactly what you can afford, whether it’s a Ferrari or a holiday home, and then it doesn’t matter whether it’s 10, 15 or 20 percent of the profit that you spend on it.” As long as you make a conscious decision to spend, give there is no right or wrong here.
Finally, one should reconsider the “how” decision: How do I want to manage my assets in the future? “Managing a sum like that is a lot of work, so lottery winners should ask themselves how much they dare. You can also do just a part yourself or entrust the entire sum to one or more managers.”
It is also important to think of any heirs or surviving dependents: “In a partnership, usually only one person takes care of the finances, if that person is no longer there, the other may face an impossible mountain of tasks.” That’s why it’s important Arranging finances that could be taken over by someone else.
In the end, however, dealing with a big win is still the sole responsibility of the winner, says Friess: “People deal with such a win in very different ways: there are those who are broke again after three years and just as there are those who are not Touch pennies of their winnings and just enjoy the sense of security that money gives them.”
