Lottery winner explains why she’s given away half of her £115m fortune

Winning the lottery gave her a new purpose

After landing the EuroMillions jackpot prize with her husband Patrick in 2019, she decided that a large part of their fortune should go towards helping other people, with Dolly Parton, who passed away last month, playing an unexpected role in inspiring her generosity.

Connolly, a mother of three who previously worked as a social worker and teacher, grew up with Parton’s music because the singer was one of her father’s favourites. 

He was a huge country and western fan, but it was Parton’s attitude towards her wealth that stayed with Connolly long after her childhood.

Parton has spent decades giving away huge amounts of her fortune to charitable causes and has become known for putting her money towards projects that benefit other people. 

She could potentially have been a billionaire by now had she kept more of what she earned, but some of her biggest achievements have come from giving it away.

Founded by Dolly Parton in 1995, the Imagination Library programme sends one free, age appropriate book every month to children from birth until they turn five (Photo: Getty)

Her approach to money changed after winning

That example helped shape Connolly’s own attitude after her lottery win. She and Patrick established the PFC Trust, which supports communities and charitable projects across the north east of England.

Connolly has since given away more than half of her winnings, arguing that once you have enough to live comfortably, there is little reason to keep accumulating more simply for the sake of it.

“It depends on what you want in life. If your ambition is to be the richest person in the world and be influencing presidents, then you need to keep all your money, or you need to keep a lot of your money.

“But I don't know anybody who doesn't share something. I think it's in mankind to share when you get to a level where you've got enough.”

She also believes that what counts as “enough” will be different for everyone, and admitted that her approach might have been different had she won the jackpot much earlier in life.

“Maybe you'd be a bit more nervous about how much you could give away, but unless I intended to live forever - I was 50-whatever when I won it - so even being generous, I was well over half-way through.”

Her fortune is now helping people across the UK

The couple’s trust has since put their fortune towards a wide range of causes, including projects tackling loneliness, technology for older people, emergency food parcels and respite caravans designed to give young carers the chance to take a proper break.

And Connolly is now taking that charitable mission into her 60s. To celebrate her 60th birthday, seven athletes will take on a series of challenges to raise money for the PFC Trust, helping the couple continue to turn their lottery win into something that reaches far beyond their own family.

Feature image credit: PFC Trust.