I'd quit my job.
I'd get myself set up with some sort of allowance, put the rest in trust, and keep going to school to learn shit.
I am 100% certain that I will not win. That said, if I came into that kind of money I would most certainly quit my job. Then, I would continue working on my startup because I believe in it as a net gain for society. I'd dedicate my money and efforts towards extending life for myself and others and bettering life for those less fortunate. I would do all of this while traveling extensively. Also, I'd adopt a child. Also, I'd throw the mother of all Hubski meet ups.
have you shared on hubski about your startup yet?
Not yet. I will, when its launched officially. We are close. I would be shocked if by April I wasn't able to share details openly. Pretty excited!
A coworker says if he won the lottery, he wouldn't quit, he'd wait to get fired. I'll ignore the boring stuff like setting up trusts for my nieces and making sure my parents and siblings are positioned well (again trusts, not lump sums). Then homes, property and a small number of nice but not over the top cars. One home in upstate New York for mountains and maybe a home on a coast somewhere warmer. I think I'd limit myself to one fun car, but picking which is no small task. If I could barely afford a ten year old Aston Martin, that seems like a fun fantasy. If I won (not earned) a huge pile of cash, it seems ridiculous. I think I'd go with something like a BMW M5 or a Mercedes AMG. Homes: in upstate New York having more land in an area with good access to services is more important to me than size of the home. Something on a coast somewhere could be a luxury condo rather than a house. I like trees and mountains and parks, so I think New York would be my primary home. I'd love to learn to fly and own my own plane, but I don't think that'd be on my lottery list. Earning a pilots' license, maybe. And maybe purchasing a nice, used Cessna. But while I drool over P-51s, with the lottery giving me large wealth but zero continued earning potential, buying a classic warbird is one of those bad lottery ideas. But I don't play. I admit it's tempting with the massive estimated jackpot, but I won't buy a ticket.
I had a coworker who did just that, but he hadn't even won the lottery. It took them about a year and a half of him doing the absolute minimum amount of work for them to fire him. He even got a years worth of EI benefits from it.A coworker says if he won the lottery, he wouldn't quit, he'd wait to get fired.
If I can be honest here, I have no fucking clue. I'd make sure that my parents, aunt and uncles were set up, and pay off the college loans of the cousins, but then you still have $1.3 billion. Other than the rule of hire three people (tax attorney, personal attorney, financial manager) I'd not do anything for a year. I'd let it sit there and spend that time coming to terms with the change in life this would bring. I guess go do astronomy in Australia for a month? Build an observatory? Do some crazy over the top funding project with the local parks and library? Oh and I'd pay to keep Hubski running for as long as TNG, MK et al want to work on it.
Counter to TNG I believe with every fiber of my being that I am going to win hahaha. The one thought that crosses my mind is the freedom to learn, to live, and to help of my own accord. To have numerous barriers taken down. I'm not sure what I would do, but it would be completely MY choice what to do.
Ha! My certainty of not being a winner is derived from my knowledge that I have not and don't plan to purchase a ticket. -it would seem a prerequisite to winning, right?
Well, it worked for me.What else can you buy for 2 dollars and dream this big with?
It's a valid point. It really is fun to imagine all the things you would do... but some people will use it as a way to not do all the things they can in order to will those things in to reality on their own. That's sad.
I'll bite. My first thought upon hearing this was: "Finally, I can buy a PC capable of running games at 1080p!". Sounds silly, but I've been having dreams about playing Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas with a number of mods on (chief among them being the mod that allows for playing the games simulating the real-life first-person perspective instead of the fixed game-ish ones) and immersing myself into either hunting with a bow long-range or killing (and risking being killed) by a single bullet from an enemy, all the while struggling to survive and keep up with the character's needs. After that, I'll go for something bigger. With that kind of money, I can live in Russia without a day of having to work for... I seem to have my calculations screwed up in some way, so let's vocalize that to see if I'm getting it right. $1.3 billion is, given current exchange rate (around 1:65), 84 500 000 000 rubles. Yep, that's 84.5 billion rubles alright. Given that I generally need 30k a month (including rent for a fairly decent apartment in Kemerovo or Tomsk), which is pretty cheap, I'll be able to live without a worry about money for... uh... 234+ thousand years. Somebody please check that.
I actually have personal experience with this, so I might be able to bring some real-world insight here... When I was at NASA in the early 1990's, my boss won the lottery. He took home somewhere just south of a million dollars. Mid-50's guy, married with two kids in Junior High School, IIRC. He paid off the house. He got a new - not flashy - car. Something comfortable and appropriate for the time/place/role in his life. It wasn't an actual Ford Taurus, but was just as boring (I can't remember exactly). But it was new, paid for, and comfortable for his 6-foot-3 frame. He then put money away for the kid's college education. Then he kept coming in to work. On time. Every day. And it was AMAZING. With all of his everyday monetary worries taken care of, and a sizable nest egg to support him in case of any emergency, he just relaxed and enjoyed himself. And I gotta tell you, when your boss comes in every morning smiling, with no stress, and is able to keep his head above the everyday stresses of our daily lives? Suddenly YOUR life becomes amazing. We still did all the same projects we always did at NASA - this was the Multimedia Design Group - but every project just glided along to completion. Every member of the team worked hard, but - for some reason - projects got reasonable timeframes. Collaborators enjoyed working with the team that was "so much fun, and so easy to work with". So this virtuous cycle began, and continued through the duration of my employment there. It was AMAZING. So what would I do with a gajillion dollars? Basically become a Medici with a graphic design team and software development teams. I'd help non-profit organizations produce AMAZING marketing collateral and products. For free. I'd work with people who had great ideas, but couldn't get the dev team together to nail the idea down. For free. A 3 story warehouse building with the amenities of a modern day software startup, but everybody in the building is working on projects they are CRAZY about, and have zero budget concerns. That's what I would do.
Can't win cause I don't play. If I win, I'd feel horrible. Because that would be the hope and dreams of millions of people in my hands. They play everyday, hoping that one day it will be their turn. I read an interesting tweet yesterday, it went something like this: > 1 in 4 accidents will be caused by texting. > people - well that won't be me > 1 in 292 million chance to win > people - you never know The game is rigged, lottery money is an illusion making you think if you don't win at least you are helping schools or not losing much money. It's addictive, go watch the poor folks lining up everyday to buy this stuff. That's their hopes and dreams in a meritocratic society that has labeled them as losers. I know I'm sure I'll be seen as a naysayer but hey, the lottery is a losers games, cause in the long run we all lose.
I've thought about it for a bit. If I won, I'd go car crazy. First things first though, after cashing in I'd go on a week long tequila bender. No supervision from the wife. No supervision from friends or relatives. If I'm not dead, in jail, or somehow lost all of the money already, it's mean to be. If on some other hand I did fuck things up, the tale would become a cautionary epic meant for the history books. Who knows? Guy Ritchie might make a film about be. Now, I know he'd probably embellish things a little bit, so for the record I do not associate with criminal elements. So please keep that in mind. Next, I'd have to quit my job so I could go garage hunting for the perfect garage to keep my soon to be epic collection safe. We're talking controlled environment, surveillance system, security post, the works. I'd probably drop Jay Leno a line and see if he couldn't point me in a decent direction. I'd figure he'd know a place or two. As for the actual car collecting itself, I have mental list. On the short list for the wife, as a reward for putting up with my ass of course, is the following . . . 1. 1st Gen Toyota Celica - She absolutely loves the shape of the car and while she's more of a Datsun/Nissan girl, I'm more of a Toyota guy so first gift to her is a car of my preference. 2. A Datsun S211 Roadster - There are only 20 in existence. Every lottery winner gets to get something outrageously stupid. This would be it. To be honest, I wouldn't even know how to find one, let alone find one someone would be willing to part with. Damn though, it'd be fun. 3. An unmolested, un-fucked up Nissan 240sx – There has to be at least one here in the States that hasn't turned into a wanna be drift missile. I will find it and it will be hers. Worse comes to worse, I'll find a semi-clean example and pay a shop to restore it for her. 4. A Kia Forte Hatchback – No fucking joke guys. I literally just turned to my wife and said “If I won the lottery, what's the first car you'd want me to buy you?” That was her answer. My wife, a car nut, wants a fucking Kia for a lottery car. She's adorable. Now for my cars . . . 1. A four-eyed Fifth Gen El Camino – This is the car that got me into cars. It deserves to be first for that reason alone. 2. A 1995 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R – Let's not do this car a disservice by comparing it to modern day cars. Like the Buick GNX of the '80s, this car was the shit. It was pure aggression, mechanically personified. I am more than willing to admit that I am in no way remotely skilled enough to drive one of these things on a track, but as a fan of SN-95 Mustangs, it would be a dream to say I own one of these. In fact, I'd be more than happy to watch other, qualified drivers make this baby do its magic. 3. A whole smattering of classic muscle. In order of years and not preference, a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass, a 1969 Dodge Charger, a 1970 Ford Torino, an AMC Javelin of any vintage (cause cause the Big 3 pony cars are too mainstream) and a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am in Bandit Trim. I don't care if the 77 Trans Am is slow, Smokey and the Bandit is the shit and I want that car. Since I'm now rich, I get to have it. Not to mention, if I'm at a car show and see something I want, it's gonna be mine cause I'm rich. So I am by no means limited to this list. 4. A Cadillac CTS-V Wagon – If my wife is gonna go practical. I'm gonna go practical and mean. A CTS-V fits this nicely. Now, that said, we wouldn't limit ourselves to just those cars. Hell, everytime we go oggling cars at meet ups and shows we find ourselves filled with the “I wants” and the “gimme gimme.” But, you gotta start somewhere. So I know what you're asking. rd95, you're rich now. What about the Lambos? What about the Ferarris? What about the McLarens and the Paganis, and the Bugattis, and the coach built SUVs with whale penis leather seats? Fuck those cars. You can't drive them in public to their fullest capabilities and I have zero motor sports aspirations, so I would never take one to the track. Truth be told? The CTS-V is probably more car than I can handle. I just want it because it's ridiculously awesome in its own way. That said though. I am going to get my motor sport fix going real quick. You know those guys in those RVs that go from one NASCAR race to the next? I'm gonna do that, but 100% more awesome. Fuck NASCAR. I've seen a hundred races on TV and I don't need to see anymore. Know where you will find me though? 24 Hours of Lemons, Import Faceoff, Official NASA events (sorry francopoli, it's not that kind of NASA). Anywhere there are average joes getting their motor fix on, I'm going to be there, supporting them, encouraging them, and chatting them up. I get to see the country. I get to see awesome cars. I get to meet awesome people. It's a triple win. I'll be surrounded by some of the things I love the most in an environment I love the most. It'll be heaven. When I'm not doing that, I dunno. I'll go to school or open a comic shop or something . . .
That's awesome. Cars is my first deposit too. But I've got some other options. El Camino is actually on my list too and would be likely the daily driver. But not that 80s one you have going. 1969 then gut it and replace everything with a modern system because if I'm a billionaire I'm not worrying about whether or not the car will start. Also, this car will drag its ass so low on the ground that it will mess up streets. I will donate money to the city to fix the streets. CTS-V? No way. STS-V. I gots to stretch my legs man. But it's funny because I was asking myself what I would do with the money and this was my first thought: STS-V. But I drive a DTS now. Old man cars are the shit. Then 1968 DeVille Convertible. Same treatment as the El Camino on adjustable bags and with chrome dripping off of every surface. In my head now she's metallic purple but I'm open to a toxic green airbrush job too. I don't know. We'll see what millions can do for a shop's interest. But my overall theme with the money? I would just fund charities who help out poor people. Same shit I try to do now to less effect. I would buy art from local artists for much more than the asking price. I would start a company that asks for literary submissions and then pay people to write more. I would be a patron to as many people as possible and I would make sure that when people wanted to spit on me because of how much money I have, that their friend would stop them and say, "No. He's one of the good ones. Let's see if he'll give us some money."
If you ever want ideas for restomods, for the sake of fantasy and just to see what's out there, both The Hot Rod Network and Speedhunters feature some absolutely great restomods from time to time. They both have tons of content for custom cars of all types though and if you're like me and you like to go to car shows to see what people have done to their cars, they're a great way to scratch that itch in between shows. kleinbl00 and I have both shot the shit a little bit in the past about electric drive train conversions for cars too. That's something I would never rule out, especially as battery technology and the infrastructure for electric vehichles continues to develop. With the right money and the right people, you could easily get yourself something that's pretty mean. I agree with your sentiment about using your money to support local businesses and artists though. That's something that the wife and I do already and it's something I'm a huge advocate about. I think if we ever hit it big, we would continue the same behavior but find ways to contribute more. Hell, I like rinx idea about finance courses. I might get with her and develop something for people who want to start their own businesses or something.
I had a thought. A New Tesla S is roughly 90K with all the toys. Buy one. Then throw it away next month and buy a new one. Do that 12 times a year and you are talking roughly 1.1 million, make that 1.5 million to pay for taxes. This does not even dent into the interest on the cash prize after taxes. Assuming 500 million take home after you get the cash award and pay taxes, and you invest it at a shitty return of 4%, you can do the above with THIRTEEN cars a month. It's rough to think about how much cash this actually is.
I'd immediately publicly donate it, or burn the ticket before collecting. Do you really want a target that big put on your back? You'll spend most of it on physical security from people trying to break into your home. If you decide to spend it on a new house in a more private location where you have the security, the funds will be depleted before you can gain the income required to maintain said house/security. It's not a 'curse' as a lot of people put it, it's just impractical for one person to be given that much money all at once with no supporting income. You aren't a real billionaire at that point, as most billionaires have long developed empires and diversified assets. It would take forever to build that sort of empire from a sudden influx of a billion dollars while simultaneously trying to defend your life. I find it weird that people pay money to have an impossibly small chance to have their life ruined. Best case scenario you are out $2, worst case scenario you're struggling to stay alive. The worst part about it is that poor people are the main players of this 'game'. So that means you are losing money you desperately need to survive for a chance to be the worst at managing said money. Just think about the quantity for a minute, at $200,000 insured bank accounts it would take 6500 bank accounts to keep that money insured. One person cannot do all of that, and probably not even 100 people could either. Most people think and are recommended to hire an accountant, but that's really not enough. You'd have to hire a staff, and at the same time try to immediately find a way to figure out how to start making serious guaranteed steady income to support said staff. My daydream is a world where the government doesn't prey on it's citizens like this with a false pretense of being 'the good guy'. The only way to win is not to play.
Aside from the boring parts of ensuring family is set up, investing enough to maintain growth and all that, I'd probably get a large house and set up the ultimate nerd cave in it. Maybe just build the house so I could have it already set up with all the internal stuff necessary to ensure that.
I'd keep 10 million for myself. 3 million would go to a home on either coast and a lake. I'd split out plots on the lake and give them to my friends, so we'd all privately own it and I'd build a cute cabin for vacations on my plot. The other 7 million I'd keep, gives me about 200,000 a year to live on. That leaves about what, 400 million after the lump sum and taxes? I'd spent up to 1 mil of that developing a personal finance course with some fancy professors from Yale. Then I'd give 100 friends and family about 4 million each contingent on them finishing the course .