What is the point of writing a letter like this to a money advice column? His only question is, "Was I wrong in not telling anyone about my winnings?" Surely by 67 you should understand that wrong is the eye of the beholder. Only you can answer whether you did right or wrong, although I will say that sending a letter to an advice column is a signal that you are not completely satisfied with your decision. Honestly this comes off like a brag -- simply because he is not conveying any information other than his wealth and dislike for his family.
There are a bunch of different ways to approach having a lot of money. I have been lucky enough to be extremely well compensated these last few years. To the point where we are getting on toward having so much money that it doesn't seem possible to use it all, although we are nowhere in the range of this lottery winner. My family knows I'm doing well, but perhaps not exactly how well, which is a fine state of affairs as long as everyone understands that there are boundaries. I think you can use money like that to make life better for your loved ones without going all the way toward making them dependents, and personally it has felt right to do that for me. But everyone has their own views on what is best.
What is the point of writing a letter like this to
a money advice column?
You're right: there's no point in writing a letter like this.
But also: did somebody actually write this letter?
This is pure speculation but I'm about 99.99% certain that 99.99% of letters to advice columns are wholly fabricated by those who write the columns... right?
> Surely by 67 you should understand that wrong is the eye of the beholder.
Knowing that and feeling that are two different things. Sometimes you just need to hear it from another person (and, quite often, you should - it's easy to get stuck in a wrong view). There's nothing wrong with asking.
I'm not sure about bragging, but it struck me that given that winners identity (at least names) are publicly available, the rough amount, and the rough time, he is pretty much outing himself. Maybe that has something to do with it.
There are a bunch of different ways to approach having a lot of money. I have been lucky enough to be extremely well compensated these last few years. To the point where we are getting on toward having so much money that it doesn't seem possible to use it all, although we are nowhere in the range of this lottery winner. My family knows I'm doing well, but perhaps not exactly how well, which is a fine state of affairs as long as everyone understands that there are boundaries. I think you can use money like that to make life better for your loved ones without going all the way toward making them dependents, and personally it has felt right to do that for me. But everyone has their own views on what is best.