Time, not money, is the real jackpot: lessons from a lottery financial advisor

VPM | By Manoush Zomorodi, Matthew Cloutier and Sanaz Meshkinpour

Published January 23, 2026 at 4:07 PM EST

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode What can you control in this chaotic world?

It’s easy to think if only you had more money, you could do anything. But after decades advising lottery winners, Matt Pitcher says true agency comes from knowing how you want to spend your time.

About Matt Pitcher

Matt Pitcher is the founder and managing partner of Altor Wealth, a B Corp wealth management firm in the United Kingdom. For the past two decades, he has offered financial counsel to winners of the UK’s National Lottery, helping them avoid big money mistakes and to align their wealth with their values.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Matthew Cloutier and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and Manoush Zomorodi. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Talk: Why we make bad financial choices — even when we know better

Related TED Talk: The emotions behind your money habits

Related TED Talk: The money talk that every couple needs to have

Related NPR Links

Throughline: Get Rich Quick: The American Lottery

All Things Considered: Here’s who really wins and loses in American lotteries

Planet Money: Can money buy happiness?

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Manoush Zomorodi

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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