Lottery Winner Blew £17 Million on Yacht, Nightclub, and a Pub Due to Bad Advice
Sherif Girgis, a part-time cinema worker, bagged £17 million when he was just 23 years old. Girgis hit the jackpot in 2007 when he won an Australian Lottery, but unfortunately, he blew a massive amount on ideas that at the time must have looked very intriguing. He blew the money that could have turned his life around on bad investments. The Australian man quickly lost all the money on a yacht, a pub, and a nightclub.
According to Girgis, he sought help from City of Joondalup councilor, Russell Poliwka after he won the lottery. As per The West Australian, Girgis put his money towards the assets of a pub, a luxury boat, a nightclub, and a block of land with ocean views after taking the advice of the prominent real estate agent. He purchased a nightclub with one and a half million pounds and dropped £500,000 for an 80-foot yacht. He then went on and spent £750,000 on opening up a pub. Unfortunately, the businesses didn’t go well which led him to lose £600,000 over the next three years. He lost about £14 million after taking Russell Poliwka's bad advice. In 2012, Girgis had a conversation with Poliwka that he only had £3 million of the initial £17 million prize.
In 2014, Girgis took matters to the courtroom and launched legal action against the man who was responsible for overseeing the fortune that he won. He lodged the lawsuit claiming Poliwka had engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce.” He also claimed that Poliwka had committed a “breach of a duty to exercise reasonable care, skill, and diligence” through his investment guidance.
Eventually, in 2019, Girgis was partly triumphant in his legal bid. The Supreme Court ruled that Poliwka had to pay more than £1.1 million to Girgis."Mr. Poliwka operated as a sounding board for Mr. Girgis and was involved in decision-making for Mr. Girgis," Justice John Vaughan said. "(Girgis) looked to Mr. Poliwka for advice and deferred to and acted on Mr. Poliwka’s representations and advice. Reasonable reliance on Mr. Poliwka’s misleading or deceptive representation, and on Mr. Poliwka’s negligent advice, has been established."
Sherif Girgis isn't the only one who lost his fortune after winning a lottery and being struck by the infamous "lottery curse." As per the Independent, in 2011, Colin and Christine Weir accumulated the biggest amount of cash ever for a British champion of the EuroMillions. Unfortunately, the lottery curse struck, and Colin, 71, and Christine, 62, are set to go their separate ways. Similarly, Micheal Carroll, a 35-year-old, is reportedly the most famous example of the lottery curse. Carroll was known as the "Lotto Lout" after he blew his £10 million fortune on flash cars and partying, as reported by WalesOnline.
