‘Nerves and jealousy’ at complex where 10 pensioners are millionaires

Pensioners living at a sheltered housing complex in Breda are having to cope with unwelcome public attention and jealousy after winning this year’s New Year lottery jackpot of €20m, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.


‘I feel really weird about it. I’ve got strange prickly feelings in my legs,’ Mrs Heinink, 91, told the paper. For the past two days, the pensioner has been a millionaire, and ended up getting her son to take her back to his home to escape the media attention.
Others have also fled the glare of the cameras. And a 92-year-old man told the paper over the intercom he had not got a clue what it all means. ‘My oldest daughter is taking care of everything,’ he said.
Jealousy
But not everyone who lives at the complex took part in the lottery. Mrs Schets, 82, spent the whole day answering phone calls from friends and relatives who wanted to know about her win. ‘Alas, I did not have a ticket,’ she says. ‘But that’s life.’
Another resident, a 79-year-old woman who wishes to remain anonymous, lives between two new millionaires and thinks it is not fair. ‘What do all those oldies want with the money,’ she said.
‘They had enough money already,’ she said. ‘But those of us who didn’t have a cent to buy a ticket, have to watch them instead. It would have been fairer if the win was divided up between everyone.’

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