Lee Ryan: £6.5m in the lottery's early days, later prison and the streets

Lee Ryan won £6.5 million in the National Lottery's early days. Reports differ on whether it was late 1994 or 1995. He was then living in a council house in Leicester with his partner and their three young children. He tried to keep the win secret, but after he told relatives it became public.

He spent heavily. He bought a mansion with a swimming pool, tennis court and sauna, plus a £125,000 plane, a £235,000 helicopter and two Ducati motorbikes. A Bentley, a Ferrari, a Porsche and a BMW carried the plates LEE 1 to LEE 4. After the win he spent nine months in prison for handling stolen cars.

By 2010 he had lost everything and was homeless. He has said he spent five years sleeping rough, some of it in London. Looking back, he said that slipping envelopes of cash to homeless people gave him more pleasure than anything else the money bought.

In 2023, aged 63, he was working as a painter and decorator. He still plays, and says that if he won again he would open a hotel for homeless people.

A sudden win is not a plan. If gambling is causing you problems, BeGambleAware.org offers free, confidential help.

Sources

• Guardian: Curse of the lottery? What happened next to four winners (theguardian.com)
• Coventry Telegraph: Man who won £6.5m on lottery is now a decorator (coventrytelegraph.net)