2
A man's entire life
Ian Usher auctioned his; a radio station gave one away.
In 2008 Ian Usher, going through a divorce in Perth, listed "my whole life" on eBay: house, car, motorbike, jet-ski, a two-week trial at his job and an introduction to his friends. It sold for about A$400,000.
That was an auction rather than a sweepstakes, but it set off a run of promotions in the same shape — radio stations and brands giving away "a new life": a house, a job, a car, sometimes a pet, as one bundle.
They are a nightmare to administer. Every component has a different tax treatment, the job cannot legally be guaranteed, and the pet raises questions nobody in marketing has thought about.
Usher, for what it is worth, did well out of it. He spent the money travelling, wrote a book, and later bought an island in Panama — which puts him in two categories on this list at once.