This past weekend marks the highest that the Powerball has ever been in terms of potential winnings: 1.3 billion. With taxes, of course, the amount that the winner could actually receive would be considerably less, but never the less, it is still more than ever. Ticket sales have sky-rocketed nationwide, but why? Hasn’t our culture, for years stressed the idea that money cannot buy happiness? Can any one individual purchasing a ticket honestly state that they haven’t heard stories of people who won it all only to lose it shortly after?

In fact, a fair number of winners have had runs with bad luck. For many, poor investments and exuberant spending take their toll and within a short period of time their once seemingly infinite sums of money have all but vanished. To the smart investor, of course, this shouldn’t be a discouragement from buying that Lotto ticket, but not here’s where other people come in to play. Anyone who makes it big, especially as big as it is now, runs a relatively large risk of theft and even worse at the hands of those seeking a piece of the fortune.

On a number of occasions, winners or supposed winners have been found murdered several weeks or months after winning the reward. Even more often they find a piece of their fortune has been taken from them, perhaps even buy a family member or friend. This sort of thing can be scary, even for the wisest investor, as it could mean a total loss of the reward and potentially much more with no fault of their own. Winning that jackpot may be exhilarating, but when do you think that that exhilaration fades and paranoia sets in?