The Richest BlackLottery Winners By Douglas C. Lyons

lAGKPOT

Gloria Mitchem, (he nafiims riebest Bla<'k InHery winner, is (ri>mf<>rlecl by her bnither, Kiissell, dur-inj; a press toiiierence, Sinif winning, she has kept a very low-profile.

Believe it or not,winning $37.4million can create afew problems

WOULD you spend $18,000 on adining room set? Lee and Bar-

bara Pierce won't, although they caneasily afford it. Until recently, thePierces each worked two jobs in Chi-cago to make ends meet. Ali thatchanged last summer when the couplewon S22.6 million in the Illinois Lot-tery s "Lotto" game.

Suddenly, the price of furniture—orin this case, hiring an interior decora-tor to furnish a new house—is nolonger a problem, Overcoming the re-luctance to spend money on high-priced furnishings, however, is.

"You want it to be nice, but we re notextravagant." Barbara says. "Wecouldn't deal with an $18,000 diningroom set. There are people who haveliad money all of their lives. They mayl)c used to it. We're not."

To hear some of the nation's richestlottery winners tell it, winning aneight-figure fortune takes some get-ting used to. Old habits die hard, andtor the most part, people remain thesame, even in the face of an enormousfmancial windfall.

Winning the lottery may well be thenew American dream. According togaming industry statistics, the nation'slotteries generate roughly $12.7 billionin annual sales, flalf of that is returnedto winners in cash prizes. To date,eiuiit luck\ Black winners are now

NAME

Gloria MitchemMartin J. KingAugustin JomboLee PierceCarlos GillZelma & Eli BarnesSgf. Lee NeisonRoland R. Roberts

Source: Individual lottery agencies

AMOUNT

$37.4 million$29.1 million$26 million$22.6 million$22 million$16 miltion$16 million$16 million

'Eight Black families have won more than $15 million.

The Lucky 8*LOTTERY

Florida LOTTOLotto AmericaNew York LottoIllinois LottoNew York LottoOhio Super LottoLotto AmericaNew York Lotto

WINNING NUMBERS

5, 10, 11, 12,25,368, 14, 15,35,39,516, 14, 15,41,45,513,11,20,44,51,531, 8,29,32,43,44

16,21,29,33,35,439,17,20,28,46,50

24, 29, 32, 34, 44, 45

96 EBONY • Februory, 1990 Continued on Page 98

Once laid-otf and out of work, Martiu J. King {right} no longer has to worry about fiiidiiig odd johs.He hit the Lotto America game lor an eight-figure jackpot. He holds up his new T-shirt, while be-ing congratulated by his friend. Bill Fowler.

Th6 enormous windfall oi hi^ fascimile check brings a smile to Augustin Jombo (right) during a lotterynews amlereiice in New York. A native of Nigeria, he plans to use the money to become re-united with his family still living in his home country.

LOTTERY WINNERSmulti-millionaires, having "hit" theright six numbers for jackpots rangingfrom $16 million to $37 million. For thenext 20 years, they can expect annualpaychecks from $609,000 to more than$1.6 million. So what is it really like todiscover after years of struggle thatyou re suddenly rich beyond belief? Isit all champagne dreams and caviarwishes?98

Well, not qnite.Big lottery winners usually make

major purchases, such as new homes,clothes, automobiles and vacations.They often use their new wealth tohelp family members and closefriends. However, don t expect themoney to bring major changes in thewinner s personality. For these luckyfew, the lifestyle of the rich remains abig adjustment that takes time to

make—if it ever occurs at all.Take the case of Gloria Mitchem, a

26-year-old nursing home house-keeper who is now the nation s richestBlack lottery winner, She once was de-scribed as a "low-key" person. She isnow called a "recluse. " Within a week,the excitement of winning $37.4 mil-lion in the Florida lottery gave way to adesperate struggle to be left alone.

Mitchem lived in a rural communityin central Florida, where she occa-sionally played the lottery withoutmuch success. Her luck changed oneSaturday last March when she discov-

"After you get every-thing together withthe lottery, the bestthing to do is to justdisappear... "

ered she had the winning ticket. Wordof her good fortune spread quickly, andthe following day, crowds of well-wishers and news reporters packed thefront yard of her mobile home. A policeescort was called to take the winnerand her family to Tallahassee to claimthe grand prize. Things got worse atthe lottery press conference when fam-ily members said they wanted an"IROC Z" sports car and a Rolls-Royce.Automobile salesmen soon began min-gling with reporters outside Mitchem shome, clamoring for her attention andher money. By the following Friday,Mitchem had had enough. She an-nounced through her relatives that shewould have no further contact with thepress. She then left town.

Mitchem did buy a new home forherself and for one of her five sisters.She also quit her $13,000-a-year jobmaking beds at a nearby nursing home.She reportedly donated some moneyto local churches, although severalministers declined to confirm or denythe donations, describing the issne as a"private matter."

However, the diminutive prizewin-ner surprised some observers whenshe removed her child from a local day-care center for fear of a possible kid-napping attempt. She still refuses togrant interviews to the news mediaand keeps her whereabouts a closelyguarded secret. Her family, boyfriendand others are also tight-lipped, andfor good reason, according to one long-time family acquaintance who claimsthat Mitchem will cut off anyone—particularly family members—from

EBONY • February. 1990 Continued on Page 100

All in the family is the mottofor Barbara and LeePierce. The couple(seated, center) has di-vided the winnings with10 members of the imme-diate family. With the ex-ception of the Pierces, noone has quit work becauseof the windfall.

lOTTERY WINNERSsharing the lottery fortune if they dis-close the loeation of her new home ortalk to the news media.

Mitchem is not the only big lotterywinner to shun the spotlight. Accor-ding to lottery officials in New York andOhio, Roland R. Roberts, a retiredpipefitter in New York, has declinedseveral requests for interviews sincewinning S16 million. Zelma and SharonBarnes, a Columbus, Ohio, couplewho won $16 million in the Ohio SuperLotto game, have also turned down re-quests for interviews to guard theirprivacy. Game officials in New Yorkand Washington, D.C., say they can'tlocate two of their biggest winners—Augustin Jombo, a $26 million winnerin New York and U.S. Army Sgt. LeeNelson, a $16 million winner in Wash-ington, D.C.

Lottery winners say they receivegeneral advice from the lottery agency,which includes finding an attorney andfinancial advisor They also advise thebig winners to change their telephonenumber and consider moving. Afterthe press conference, winners are usu-ally on their own.

Disappearing outright is one sug-gestion Martin J. King is quick to offerany lottery winner—even if he didn'ttake the advice himself After winning$29.1 million last summer in LottoAmerica, King still lives in his sameneighborhood in suburban St. Louis.

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He tried to get away briefly by visitingrelatives in Wisconsin, but soon foundthat almost everyone there seemed toknow him for what he had become—rich. "It was as bad as if I had stayed[home]," he recalls. "After you get ev-erything together with the lottery, thebest thing to do is to disappear for fouror five months. I think it would bemuch easier."

Before hitting the financial jackpot,King had had his share of hard times. Adivorce with five adult children, he

"We couldn't deal withan $18,000 dining roomset. Some people havehad money all of theirlives. They are used toit. We are not."

once worked as a satellite dish repair-man until 1982 when he was laid offfrom his job. The 49-year-old repair-man began working odd jobs, some-times earning as little as $10 a day.Now, the hard-luck days are behindhim. To date, he has purchased a newvan and a boat. He plans to build a newhouse in Mississippi for his family. Hespends most of his time travelling, ei-ther visiting his relatives or enjoyinghis favorite pastime—fishing.

Having become rich overnight.King is learning that some people treatthe wealthy differently. "I was going tobuy a house from a lady who wanted$110,000 for it." he says. "The pricesuddenly jumped to $169,000. It wassomething that I had wanted. But now,I wouldn't waste my time, not at thatprice." And, although his telephonenumber is unlisted, he still receivesoccasional requests for favors. "You'dbe surprised at some of the things peo-ple will ask you," he says. "A lady I usedto date way back in the 1960s is callingme. I tell her like I ve told the others, Ihave my lady and that's it." When hedoesn't feel like talking. King says hepolitely tells the caller that he isn'thome and dutifully takes a message.

Unlike King, Lee and BarbaraPierce disappeared. After a quick rideto the Illinois Lottery in a whitestretch limousine, the Pierces claimedtheir $22.6-million prize and submit-ted to the mandatory press conference.The couple then took their families todinner and later moved into a hotel tosort out their future.

Like most lotteries, the Illinois Lot-to usually takes about five weeks be-fore issuing the first payment to itswinners. However, the Pierces neededmoney long before their first cheek,since they had quit their jobs and wereliving with relatives. So, armed withdocumentation from the state lotteryagency, the couple went to a Chicago

EBONY • February, 1990 Continued on Page 102

LOTTERY WINNERSbank to apply for a $50,000 loan. Aboutten days later, the Pierces still hadn'theard from the bank. "By the timethey called us, we had gone to anotherbank and had gotten a loan," Mrs.Pierce recalls. "When the lady called, Itold her that they could take the appli-cation, and I was going to say, '. . . put itin the garbage,' She thought I waslîoing to say something else. "

Fortunately, life for the Pierces hassettled down. Lee no longer works as amachine operator and welder. Barbaraquit her job as a nurse s aide and aschool cafeteria aide. The couple hasdecided to divide the winnings withten members of their immediate fam-ily. While the group remains well off,the Pierces insist that no one has be-come an instant millionaire after split-ting the annual installments ten ways.

The money has even eased Pierce'sfear of flying. Initially, he backed awayfrom a suggestion of taking a plane toan exotic destination. "Maybe I'll takethe train to visit [relatives in] Phila-delphia," he said at the time. "I havenever been on an airplane, and I'm nottoo quick to jump on one now."

Several weeks later, Barbara coaxedher husband onto an airplane to Phila-delphia. He survived.

To date, the couple has gingerlystepped into the lifestyle of the rich.Lee has junked his 13-year-old car for anew Cadillac, and Barbara admits tohaving done her fair share of shopping.The couple also enjoy late night televi-sion, something that was once a luxurywhen the Pierces had to worry aboutgetting up early to rush to work. Itseems like a good hfe. "Lee sometimessays to me that we haven t spent thismuch time together in 20 years," Mrs.Pierce says. "Its not a bad feeling."

Thrse satS of $16 million winnersshow their appreciation duringtheir respective lottery news con-ferences. At top, Zelma andSharon Barnes, are big winners inColumbus, Ohio, Above, Sgt, LeeNelson (1,) and his wife, Mary (c),show off their winning check,while Roland R, Roberts, a retiredpipefitter shares a smile while sur-rounded by his two sons, Freeston{l,)andO.j, (r.)

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