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In any friend group, there is always a guy like Jian Feng* (not his real name). He is known as a solid, quiet, dependable friend.
His wardrobe is branded by FOS and Uniqlo. He drives a 2017 Proton Persona. For all intents and purposes, he is not showy.
But as far as Jian Feng is concerned, life is good: His current net worth is in the 8 figures. Over the phone, he shared his secret with me.
“About a decade ago, I was visiting my family in Penang and I went to the TOTO outlet to pick my favorite numbers.”
“I had no idea that I’d won anything until a few weeks later, when I found the ticket in my wallet. I decided to check the winning number, just for fun.”
In a stroke of divine luck, Jian Feng had won the jackpot. While he declined to mention the exact figure, he said it was an amount that was in the low seven-figures in Malaysian Ringgit.
Jian Feng had won over RM1,000,000 at Sports TOTO Lottery
When Jian Feng finally called Sports TOTO to enquire about his winnings, it took a few days to make all the arrangements so that he could collect them.
“I remembered staring at the ticket and the results for three days. It was a life-changing amount of money.”
Luckily for him, almost two weeks had passed before he discovered his big win. Since most of the fuss had died down, it meant that he didn’t need to bring along hulking security guards or professional bodyguards to collect the prize.
“It was all a bit anticlimactic,” he recalled, “No fanfare, no prize-giving ceremony. I walked in with a lawyer I’d hired, signed some papers, and then I was given a cheque.”
Jian-Feng couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the lottery numbers on his ticket match the ones drawn on the big screen.
“It really only became real to me when the cheque cleared, and I saw the money in my Maybank account. I realized that my life would never be the same again.”
The company then advised Jian Feng on how to manage his winnings and what he should and should not do to ensure that he could stay safe.
Jian Feng had a nervous breakdown due to paranoia
For Jian Feng, the feeling of winning such a large sum of money was overwhelming: A mix of excitement, disbelief, and a sense of responsibility all at once.
“I’ve long all dreamed of what I’d do if I won the Toto: Pay off debts and loans, buy a car, buy property, travel and see the world,” he said. “But what I didn’t expect was this huge feeling of that something bad was going to happen.”
Jian Feng had became paranoid that if he told anyone about his winnings, it would all disappear like smoke. Either that, or some misfortune would befall him or his family.
That first week, he barely ate or slept. He started questioning the motives of all his friends, his distant relatives, and even some of his family.
“I was so scared. It was just this deep-seated fear that something bad was about to happen. I don’t know what.”
Jian Feng consulted a therapist for his TOTO paranoia
Finally, after weeks of not sleeping, he broke down and had to consult a therapist.
“I remember how I felt those early few weeks: I just wanted to lie down on my bed and cry. I was so miserable!”
His therapist told him that it was natural to feel this way about a windfall.
Having wealth doesn’t necessarily make a person’s dreams come true; instead, it can create a sense of unease or guilt, especially if one feels that they didn’t deserve this wealth, he was informed.
The therapist told Jian Feng to take two months off from work to give him the time to clear his head.
“In this time,” he advised, “Focus on separating all your assets into various financial investments.”
Jian Feng took on his suggestions and recommendations and week by week, he regained control of his life.
When Jian Feng cleared his mind, he realised that he needed to take care of the people closest to him: His parents, and his future family.
Jian Feng divided his TOTO millions into multiple investment portfolios
With this newfound sense of purpose, Jian-Feng handpicked a team of lawyers, accountants, and investment advisors and put them to work.
He shared that he divided his fortune into multiple parts, with each part being managed by a different team of investment advisors. He stashed a portion of his earnings in savings, investments, insurance or properties.
“I took the saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” to heart. No one knows everything about everything. That way, nobody else has full control over my finances.”
All that being said, achieving financial freedom a lot sooner than his peers has been rather strange for Jian Feng.
“Financially, I have the power to buy pretty much anything I want, but somehow things like branded bags, luxury clothes and expensive-to-maintain cars just doesn’t have the same appeal it once did.”
Jian Feng hides in plain sight as an average joe living in a middle-class apartment
After securing his passive income streams, he beefed up his physical security at his home.
He installed security measures into his apartment, including reinforced doors, windows and a surveillance system. Aside from that, he maintains that hiding in plain sight is the best defence.
He hasn’t moved, saying, “I stay mostly anonymous. I still live in the same middle-class apartment building I’ve lived in all my life – just 11 floors above my parents.”
Jian Feng’s online presence is similarly non-existent, he shares. “I almost never post on social media. I never got a Snapchat. My Instagram is private.”
“Facebook is friends only, and LinkedIn is purely professional stuff. It’s pretty easy to find out who won that Toto, if you know what to look for. ”
Till today, Jian Feng has kept his personal wealth a secret from his family.
As for Jian Feng’s family, they are completely oblivious to his T20 status.
“My parents don’t know I won the lottery. They just think I’m an incredibly successful entrepreneur in the “technology sector,” he shrugs off the explanation.
At least, that’s what Jian Feng told them when he paid off their mortgages and maxed out their EPF and SOCSO.
“I’ve asked myself a lot of times, whether or not I should tell my family and close friends, but to be honest, I’m actually scared of how they might react.”
His chief concerns are that family and friends could start asking him for money and to invest in their businesses.
“I think I’d lose all of my friends and most of my family because I would say no, and I would refuse to take on other people’s financial burdens and responsibilities, even if they are family.”
Jian appreciates the fact that the money has made his life incredibly simple and easy. “I do make donations to charity, so at least I know that some of my money is doing good things in the world.”
And yet, while he is grateful for it, he admits that even when he is surrounded by family and friends, he can feel incredibly alone.
“It’s a secret that not even my wife knows exactly how much I’m worth.”
So why is he sharing it with me?
“Haha, there’s no reason for you to tell on me to my family, is there?” He chuckles.
“One day, my family will find out – when they read out my will.”
Do you have a personal story? Email us at hello@inreallife.my
For more stories like this, read:
Personal Finance: How Easy Is It To Shore Up RM50,000 in Savings In Malaysia? – In Real Life
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