ethics of an instant millionaire lying to hide his identity?

Question

A cousin of mine who never gambles or does anything even remotely like that bought a lottery ticket several weeks ago and won huge, around $100 million before taxes. He opted for a lump sum disbursement and has settled with the IRS on taxes, and he has set up a foundation to distribute most of the rest of this to various charities.

Now comes the dilemma: We live in a fairly smallish town of about 60,000 people, and my cousin doesn't want anyone here to know about his jackpot. The only person besides me that he has told is, naturally, his wife. They paid cash for an old, Victorian style house built in 1876 that's pretty big at 3,500 square feet, but for just $95,000 was pretty much a steal. Other than that, he's not planning on any luxuries, and is not one to collect "stuff." But the media in our town know that my cousin won, although since he goes by his middle name, few know him by his first name, which he used to claim the money. For his own safety, if people find out it's him...

Pastor Chad, I'm glad you are posting a reply, because my cousin is a really strong Christian and in fact has already given a lot of money anonymously to churches and other ministries in our area, and he wants to do the right thing according to the Bible, but the temptation to lie--mostly to family, actually, since they've heard murmurings through the grapevine about this, and a few of our family members are prone to big-time jealousy over stuff like this--but lying to family in this case seems...bad but necessary??? He and I are best friends, have been since we were kids, which is why he told me because he knows I can keep a secret about anything, but the whispers from others are starting to get louder and we just want to protect him and his family and the money that God has entrusted to him.

I need all the advice I can get, people. And prayers, too.

KeAhi, moving is not an option for my cousin and his family. They've lived here for a long time, their daughter is in middle school and they don't want to pull her out of school with friends she's known her whole life. But then again, they don't want their daughter to be seen as some rich guy's daughter and start treating her like she's a spoiled brat, because she's the greatest kid in the world and would never be like that anyway, but you know how word gets around. For that matter, I don't even know if my cousin and his wife have told their daughter anything about this. If he's going to give all of the money away, why worry a 13-year-old about something like this?

I guess I should clarify about the local media knowing who he is. The newspaper here ran a very short article saying that so-and-so from our town was the apparent jackpot winner, but my cousin's first name is known only to a few people and his phone number is unlisted, so we're guessing the TV stations don't know who he is, or at least we haven't seen them mention anything, but my cousin wouldn't talk to them anyway if they did try to get an interview. He called the newspaper after the article ran (thankfully not on the front page) and told them he would not talk on the record, and I would think they would realize why he would want privacy in this case anyway.

Answer 1

I think I see where you're going with this: If people find out his "real" identity (which would be public information anyway, with lotteries in most states), life would be miserable for a guy who just wants to give it away. Wow, what a dilemma to have.

Should he lie and tell people that no, it wasn't him? Well, it seems tempting but morally iffy even if his intentions are good in giving the money away--what if people find out it's him and that he lied about it? On the other hand, what if people find out it's him anyway and try to kidnap him or his family for a nice little ransom? Not being one to play the lottery, I don't usually worry about such things, but your cousin obviously should at this point.

Jesus said that when we do good, we shouldn't let our left hand know what our right hand is doing--it should be known only to us and God. But as far as lying to cover up good deeds? Hard call, dude. Not sure what to say. It's an interesting moral dilemma, though. I'll think on this just for the sake of argument and the moral aspects of the situation and see what I can come up with.

Answer 2

congratulations to your cousin
i dont see this as lying , its just not telling lol
but for very good reason which im sure most here would understand ... and if we can then God can ... so ethically i dont see a problem
the fact your cousin has already distributed amonst charities .. would most definatly outweigh the small " lie " on the balance of things
im not sure how long he can keep it up without people knowing but i hope everything works out good for him in the end xx

Answer 3

Congratulations..... to your cousin.

There is nothing wrong with him wanting to keep his anonymity.... but this will only protect him and his wife a little. He may want to move else where.....where he is not known at all.

It must be a wonderful thing to have all that money.... would he consider giving some to a church?......LOL....nah.
The only problem with all that money is some people will want to harm them for it, so staying private is a good idea but if the town's people know about his good fortune he may have to move for their safety.

Stay safe and I wish you well.

Answer 4

...then they should let him be and mind their own business. Commend him for not flaunting it and bragging. What a good person he is to donate to charity, even if for nothing but tax purposes.

Answer 5

Is it possible that lottery can make everyone a millionaire

Answer 6

There are times when lying is appropriate.

Answer 7

I think it's his business.