From left, Tim Davidson, Brandon Lacoff and Greg Skidmore, three asset managers from Greenwich, Conn., claim a $254 million Powerball prize on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, at Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill, Conn.
The 99% just collectively rolled their eyes.
Three asset managers in Greenwich, Conn. have won the $254 million Powerball jackpot. Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson — all colleagues at Belpointe Asset Management — came forward to claim the largest prize in Connecticut Lottery history, nearly a month after the drawing took place.
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If you’re likely to be put off by wealthy people becoming even richer, read no further. Davidson bought a single Quick Pick ticket at the Shippan Point BP gas station in Stamford. Leaving it to the computer, it randomly picked 12-14-34-39-46, with a Powerball of 36. After taxes, the colleagues walked away with a lump sum of $104 million cash. The jackpot was the 12th biggest prize nationwide in Powerball history.
Connecticut is considered one of the nation’s wealthiest communities, and the Associated Press reports that Belpointe manages in the ballpark of $82 million in client assets, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The three men created a trust, called the Putnam Avenue Family Trust (named after the street they work on) and their attorney confirmed that a “significant” amount of the money would go to charity.
But in a further twist, news is emerging that the trust was created as a front to keep the real winner out of the limelight. Lacoff’s family friend, Tom Gladstone, told the Daily Mail that, “The person who really won it is anonymous. They set up the trust so that Brandon and his two partners could claim they won it and that the real winner wouldn’t get hassled. They have said they are going to give it to charity but they are going to manage the money.”
Lottery chairman Frank Farricker tried to put as neutral a spin on the story as possible. “While the stereotype may be a poor guy down on his luck who wins, the facts of the matter is: Everyone is equal when they play,” Farricker told the Wall Street Journal. “These guys, they played one buck.”
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