Colin And Chris Weir
Biography of Chris and Colin Weir. A plethora of EuroMillions jackpot winners decide to remain anonymous after winning such a huge amount of money and the Weirs certainly debated doing the same, but sharing their financial blessings with others would be hard to accomplish if no one knew where their funding was coming from. Chris and Colin Weir. Richer than the Beckhams-But not as Attrative. When Colin Weir and his then wife Chris won £161m in the Euromillions lottery in 2011, their life as they knew it was changed forever. The Weirs, from Largs in North Ayrshire, claimed a total of.
Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Ayrshire, celebrate after a £151 million win. / PA Archive/PA Images. Mrs Weir, 62, a psychiatric nurse and Mr Weir, 71, a former TV cameraman and studio. Former STV cameraman Colin, 65, and Christine, 57, both back the SNP and are Partick Thistle fans. They have also been very generous through the £5million Weir Charitable Trust.
A plethora of EuroMillions jackpot winners decide to remain
anonymous after winning such a huge amount of money and the
Weirs certainly debated doing the same, but sharing their
financial blessings with others would be hard to accomplish if
no one knew where their funding was coming from.
Colin and Chris got married in the early 1980s, spending the
majority of their marriage living a modest lifestyle with their
average incomes. Now they will be able to spend the rest of
their lives with a seemingly endless amount of money to purchase
anything they could possibly want while also having plenty of
extra money to help others in need.
Winning the EuroMillions
In July, 2012 Chris checked the EuroMillions numbers results
on the internet and was in shock after realizing that every
single number on their ticket matched up. She immediately called
Colin just to double-check that she hadn’t made a mistake, but
she hadn’t. The couple stayed up all night talking about their
win and processing the reality that everything was literally
going to change overnight.
The next morning, they turned in their winning lottery
ticket, bringing home nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, an
unfathomable amount for the couple. After their story was
released to the press, all the locals in their small town in
Scotland rushed to the store where the Weirs had purchased their
ticket in hopes that they too could strike it big.
Lifestyle Change
Colin And Chris Weir
Soon after they collected their fortune, Chris retired as an
NHS senior nursing manager at a local hospital and Colin gave up
his job as a STV cameraman after committing nearly twenty0four
years to the job. During his career, Colin had the privilege of
filming many famous actors including Robert Redford and Cliff
Richard.
Chris once said in an interview with The Daily Mirror
Magazine, “We want to enjoy the experience, but we are not
flashy people. Once we have shared our good news, we will get
back to just being us.” The couple did spend some of their
money on luxuries for themselves, but they certainly didn’t go
overboard.
Colin’s big purchase after the win was a box at the soccer
stadium in Barcelona and he hopes to visit China, Australia,
Thailand, and Cambodia in the near future. Chris’ desire is to
have a second home built for them in an exotic location, but for
now she’s content with their three bedroom house in the quaint
town of Largs, Scotland, realizing their first house will always
have a special place in her heart.
The Weirs are currently 430th on the European all time money
list, just ahead of bookmaker Victor Chandler, Nectar card
founder Sir Keith Mills, and the Marques of Bath, all of whom
have just under €161million.
The Weirs Give Back
Nearly 80% of donations to Scotland’s pro-independence
campaign (Yes Scotland) over the past few years have come from
the Weirs, as they are very patriotic citizens of their country
and have always wanted to financially back their political
beliefs.
The Weirs have also donated millions of dollars to The Weir
Charitable Trust which financially supports other organizations
in the areas of athletics, recreational facilities, animal
welfare, health advancement, and cultural preservation.
They are constantly supporting new projects and their own
website even states, “The Weir Charitable Trust aims to support
Scottish-based community groups and small charities to provide
services across Scotland to help the Scottish community.” The
Weirs are constantly accepting new applications on their site,
which are reviewed by a board of trustees who decide if the
cause meets the credentials that the Weirs are searching for.
Impersonation
In the past couple years, there have been hoax messages
claiming that the Weirs have chosen people to be the recipient
of millions of dollars. The scammers have used the couple’s real
name and photograph to make their emails seem more authentic so
that more people will buy into their scam.
If a person responds to the email in an effort to claim their
gift, they are asked to provide confidential contact information
about themselves, which scammers use to steal their identity.
Scotland’s police department sent out a warning to all computer
users to bring to their attention that these false emails
continuously pop up from time to time.
After landing the biggest jackpot win in the history of the EuroMillions Lottery in July 2011, Scottish couple Colin and Chris Weir – who won a staggering £161,653,000, have announced that they are to donate an undisclosed, seven-figure sum to Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, to offer his party, the Scottish National Party, a boost to further drive its current campaign for Scottish independence.
EuroMillions winner Colin Weir, 64, stood for the SNP in Ayr in 1987 and is a longstanding member; Chris Weir, his partner, 55, has been described as delighted to be in a position to use their lottery win to make a contribution to the political future of Scotland.
Not only is this National Lottery win the first of its kind, but this is also the first political donation of its kind in the UK. The Weir’s donation is set to become the largest single donation the SNP has ever received. Alex Salmond is said to have written to them immediately following their lottery win to congratulate them. He has also since expressed his heartfelt appreciation for their generosity.
But if you thought this couple had only politics on their minds after their monumental EuroMillions win, you’d be mistaken. Colin and Chris Weir are alleged to have run up a tab of £30,000 at the five-star Turnberry Hotel in Ayrshire recently, as well as relocated from their modest, £200,000 former home to a new home with 23 acres of grounds, costing in excess of £850,000. Their EuroMillions lottery win now catapults them up to 430th on the UK’s rich list, on par with David and Victoria Beckham! It’s no wonder football fanatic Colin Weir is reportedly seeking out an executive box at Barcelona Football Club’s Camp Nou Stadium.
Their well-deserved extravagances appear to be tempered by an acute sense of social justice and political awareness that is refreshing to see after such a huge lottery jackpot. Previous lottery jackpot record winners include Nigel Page and Justine Laycock who won £56,000,000 and opted to go public about their win. Many previous jackpot lottery winners have opted to conceal their identity and avoid the limelight.
Would you go public after a National Lottery win? Perhaps the words of Mark Twain will shed some limelight of their own, where he once wrote, “Honesty is the best policy when there is money in it”. Why don’t you give it a chance and buy your EuroMillions lottery ticket online at Lottery24.com?