Man wins big lawsuit, pays family mortgages, they call him selfish for retiring young.

Money can bring out the worst in people, especially large sums of it. It's not uncommon for lottery winners to fall into a depression, and while there are a myriad of reasons this can happen, seeing people you thought were friends and family turn into money-hungry manipulators surely can't help. Getting demonized for setting financial boundaries is only the cherry on top of the sundae of disillusionment.

In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a man asked if he's wrong for telling his parents and siblings it's up to them to help the rest of the family. He wrote:

"AITA for saying that if my parents and siblings really want to help the rest of the family they could remortgage the houses I paid off for them."

I won a substantial lawsuit against my city. It is f@#k you money. And I did what I always said I would do if I ever won the lottery. I paid off my parents' mortgage. And I bought a duplex and gave each half to my brother and sister. The rest of the money I'm investing so I will never have to work again and I can enjoy the rest of my life.

My family had me over last weekend because I am leaving for Indonesia to begin traveling around the world. They said that we have family and friends that need help and that I was being selfish blowing the money on myself and basically retiring at 29.

I said that I had already done a lot for my immediate family and that if they felt strongly about it, between the three of them they had over $1,000,000 in equity that they could tap with a loan and then they could work to pay off their new mortgages.

It started a fight because my dad has cut back on his work because he doesn't have a mortgage any ore and neither of my siblings would qualify for a mortgage on their own. I walked out and went home to finish packing. They won't stop texting me and trying to call me. Apparently, I NEED to work the next thirty years. I don't.

My girlfriend who is joining me for a year thinks I'm being mean. I don't think I am. I have enough to last me the rest of my life. If I ever want a house I will be able to buy one. If I want to have kids I will be able to pay for their education. But not if I give away a big chunk of my money to people I know for a fact will never help me in return.

The internet had a lot of strong opinions about this situation.

SlabBeefpunch wrote:

NTA. I pretty confident in saying your family went ahead and made promises before talking to you. That's why they're freaking out. Tell your girlfriend that if she's worried you can cancel her ticket so she can stay and help. They are so completely out of line it's unreal. Go travel the world and enjoy yourself.

International_Set522 wrote:

NTA. Nice of them to try and be magnanimous with your money.

Lindseyh911 wrote:

NTA. You have provided housing for your immediate family, which is very generous. You get to do what you want with the remainder, it's not your job to support your entire extended family and their friends. Go enjoy your trip and ignore any messages related to money.

KronkLaSworda wrote:

NTA. You are now financially independent. If you give these hangers-on (family members) all of your money, you'll no longer be financially independent. There was a Steve Harvey quote about family demanding money since he was rich. It was roughly:

"What would you do if I went broke this morning? How would you get out of your situation? Do THAT."

International-Fee255 wrote:

NTA. Dude change your number and be careful of the girlfriend that wants you to give away more of your money to ungrateful people.

OP is most certainly NTA, he's more generous than a lot of people would be in his shoes.