Lotto winner scored £22million but kept his old job and still drives a Ford van
A MAN who split a £22million lotto jackpot winnings has kept his old job and still drives a white Ford Transit van.
Mark Gardiner, from Hastings, East Sussex, shared £22,590,829 with his friend Paul Maddison in 1995.
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The pair ran a small glazing company together called Croft Glass, which Paul soon left behind after the win, but Mark decided to continue working.
Having chosen not to let his £11 million go to his head, the 61-year-old still has a hands-on role at the company almost 30 years later.
He said: “My secret to staying normal and healthy, to staying grounded, is that I kept working.”
He continues to run his respected Sussex business on a day-to-day basis, including “measuring, surveying and placing orders”.
Mark drives a white Ford Transit van decorated with Croft Glass signs and roof racks for a ladder, despite being a multi-millionaire.
He said: “So I decided to invest money in the company. I wanted to see if I had the ability, skill and knowledge to go further.”
“It was a business, but it was also a challenge. And we are what we are today.
“It was almost a test for myself. It was like a test and I passed.”
But Mark has also bought a monumental mansion, a holiday home and cars.
Mark spent some of his winnings on a holiday home in Barbados, pumped £2 million into his business and also bought his local football club in Hastings, East Sussex.
He said: “I had Croft Glass before the win so I invested £2 million in it. I was 32 years old [when I won] and I thought I was too young to retire.
“If my mates say they want to play a round or go to Brighton for a day, I take the day off.
“I don’t have a boss over my shoulder telling me to sign a vacation form. And I don’t worry that if I take a day off, I won’t be able to pay my staff’s wages.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I won the lottery right now at the age of 61… oh my god, I would have done so many different things.
“I would have stopped working. I’m now at the age where you think: ‘I’ve worked for 45 years, so now I need some time off’. But because I won it when I was 32, I was still a puppy.”
The businessman said the thought that his family never had to struggle was a comfort.
Mark said the huge amount of money he had to transfer was “overwhelming” and he was “immediately scared”.
He added: “One minute I had £11 and the next minute I had £11 million and, if I’m honest, I was probably scared.
‘Nothing prepares you for it.
What happened to Paul Maddison?
Paul, originally from East Sussex, moved to Perth after winning the money.
He is said to have died on November 28 last year, just months after his wife Evelyn died aged 62.
Locals in the nearby village of Kirtlebridge previously said they had rarely seen the couple leave the 40-acre estate.
Paul also had security cameras, remote controlled gates and an intercom installed immediately after moving in.
They lived a secluded lifestyle and were rarely seen by their neighbors.
“Camelot didn’t give us an instruction book, there was no manual, we didn’t take a course; you get it, boom, please. It’s quite overwhelming.”
When he was told he couldn’t buy a weekly shop the day after his win, he made his bank pay for their mistake.
Mark said: “The Friday after my win we went shopping and my card was declined.
“I was going crazy, and it was all, ‘Oh sir, I apologize.’
“But they had their chance, so I closed that account.”
Mark lost contact with fellow winner Paul 28 years ago shortly after victory.
He said the check ultimately led to the demise of their friendship and is something he never understands to this day.
Paul, 73, died late last year – in circumstances that are not known – after moving to a 100-acre estate in Scotland.
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