What do lottery winners actually do with their prizes? Find out!

All of us have probably imagined at some point that we would win the lottery. What would we do with all that money? In France, the organization of gambling, 'La Française des Jeux' counted 1,050 'big winners' of lotteries: people who received one million euros or more between 2000 and 2013.

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!

Pocketing a jackpot worth several million gives you the chance of a lifetime to buy whatever you want. But what exactly do the lucky few spend their winnings on? A review in pictures.

Image: Waldemar/Unsplash

A retired accountant, Marie-Carmen, earned 4 million euros in 2011. Quoted by 'La Dépêche', she talks about the "eternal vacation" that her luck allowed her to take.

Image: Ethan Robertson / Unsplash

Quoted by the same newspaper, another winner, Joël, simply stopped working: "June in Corsica, July, and August in Barcarès, September and October mushrooming... I erased the word work from my vocabulary after having earned 6 million euros in 2007 at Euro Millions."

Image: Raphael Nogueira / Unsplash

In the United States, 'Insider' investigated how certain winnings, which can be considerable, are spent. A couple who collected $319 million in 2011, for example, used part of it to build a water park in New York state.

Image: Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash

Other winners cited by 'Insider' took advantage of their windfall to realize their dreams, such as buying a Porsche and a house for the Griffith family, or going around the world for a winner called Nigel Willetts.

Image: Eric Saunders / Unsplash

A Welsh couple who won 5 million pounds in 2007 showed foresight. After a cruise to celebrate the good fortune, the spouses paid off their mortgage, invested in real estate, and financed their son's studies at Oxford.

Image: Tierra Mallorca / Unsplash

Another case mentioned by 'Insider' was that of Charlie Lagarde. After drawing the right number at age 18, the young woman chose to receive $1,000 per week for the rest of her life rather than a million at once. She took the opportunity to study and travel while having eternal financial security.

Image: Sasun Bughdaryan / Unsplash

The Belgian channel 'RTBF' reported of a South African who won 37.9 million rand, or around 2 million dollars. The winner paid tribute to his deceased father by investing in a headstone for his grave. He also planned to pay for construction work to enlarge his mother's house. Two magnificent gestures of generosity!

Image: Krisztina Papp / Unsplash

The Belgian public broadcaster also quoted a young man who did not tell anyone about his winnings. He was 18 years old and all of a sudden could afford a car, a house, and several investments. Now he has his dream job: firefighter. Not out of necessity, but because he likes it.

Image: Erik Mclean / Unsplash

A French truck driver who won 10 million euros decided to buy the transport company where he worked from his boss. It must be great to make yourself the boss that way! Unfortunately, the company did not fare well. Shortly after the takeover, it went bankrupt.

Image: Dillon Kydd / Unsplash

After winning several million in 2005, the lucky Sarah Cockings wanted to spoil her whole family. As 'Le Journal de Montréal' reports, she offered a house to her parents and... a b re as t augmentation to her sister!

Image: Kira auf der Heide / Unsplash

The Canadian paper also mentions the case of Evelyn Adams, a two-time lottery winner in the 1980s. She did not stop at the highest point and would sadly lose all her money in slot machines afterward.

Image: Eyestetix Studio / Unsplash

Known for his escapades, the Englishman Michael Carroll spent more than $15 million on luxury cars. As he raced them on his track, he destroyed most of them and ended up losing all he had.

Image: Adrian N / Unsplash

Jonathan Vargas won $35 million at the age of 19 in 2008. With the money, he created 'Wrestlicious Take Down', a show dedicated to women's wrestling that aired for an entire year on television.

Image:Dylan Nolte / Unsplash

Winning an absolute record at the time with a prize of 590 million dollars, Gloria McKenzie decided to devote two million to financing major repairs in her old high school.

Image: Kyo Azuma / Unsplash

Another example of generosity: Janite Lee, who won $18 million in 1993, spent almost all of it on charity.

Now, what would you do if you were in these winners' shoes?

Image: Micheile Henderson / Unsplash

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!