If you won $100 Million in the lottery, what would you do??

[cbdo2007]

My main concern would be keeping it a secret I think, even though the "winner" is public record. I would talk to a lawyer and an accountant first before collecting my winnings to make sure everything is done right, and then I would set up a trust with some ambiguous name. I would claim the winnings in the name of the trust to keep my name out of it and then put all the money in there - we'll say after the lump sum payment and taxes I'd end up with $35 Million.

Then, from the trust, I would write a check to myself for $500,000 and tell my friends and family I won $500,000 in the lottery, enough for me to be generous with my winnings and have a big party and buy some expensive christmas presents for everyone, and to pay off my parents houses and buy them new cars. That way they won't know I'm rich to avoid all of them begging for money, and they'll think I've spent most of my winnings already on stuff.

Then, take an income from the $35 Million after investing it, tell friends and family who inquire that I was able to invest some, which has given me a comfortable return. Pay for families colleges and medical emergencies and stuff that arises, but just keep the money invested and live off the interest and travel a lot.

What's your plan?

[Heidi]

1. If I were making that decision in my current frame of mind: human rescue and cat rescue.

I would want to make sure no sentient being died hungry, lonely or in pain.

I'm pretty good at making enough money to take care of my own needs and desires, but a lot of us animals (human and otherwise) aren't or can't, and I'd do everything I possibly could to make their lives better.

[hippywife]

15. Exactly what I would do, too, sweets.

There are so many people in need that I couldn't feel right about hoarding all of that money for myself.

Happy New Year to you and CMW. :loveya: :*

[cbdo2007]

20. I didn't get into the specifics of what I would spend it on....but I would definitely

give the majority of it away to charity over the years, and when I die I would leave all of the remaining to a charity.

[safeinOhio]

2. I'd tell the world

and remind them that I have no friends or family. No reason to invest it as I won't live another 25 years and that'd be 4 million a year to spend already. I'd have a secret life as the Secret Santa. Only one rule, I'd never give any money to anyone that asked.

[Generic Brad]

3. Move

I would leave my job so someone who needs to make a living could do so. I would move to another state and divide my time between traveling with my wife and fishing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I'd do something like that, too.

I'd keep enough money for myself to fix up my house and ensure a comfortable retirement, and put most of the rest of it in a charitable foundation that didn't have my name on it. I'd keep the whole thing as low-key as possible, and live more or less the way I live now, only with insulation in my attic and new siding.

[Tikki]

5. Help kids on the streets, animals on the streets and..

18 year olds taken out of foster care.

Of course my family..but $100,000,000 could help many.


Tikki

[rrneck]

6. Go to the dentist. nt

[backwoodsbob]

7. move to a third world country where

you can live on a dollar a day.

Be worshipped as a God

[HopeHoops]

8. Take care of my immediate concerns and then try to give most of it away.

I'd buy as many blankets, coats, hats, gloves, mats, and whatever else the downtown shelter thinks they need for starters. I don't need a Porche. I don't need a McMansion (I like my house). You only need so much to be financially secure. The food bank is stretched to the limits right now and I would love to give them a massive check. People are freezing on the street and the shelter actually takes things out and delivers them to these people. I don't want to be rich, but I can think of a hell of a lot of good ways to use the money.

[Auggie]

9. Exact same plan as yours

[Kaleva]

10. First, pay 50 million in taxes.

[RandomThoughts]

11. Bingo!

[A HERETIC I AM]

33. What makes you think the tax rate on those kind of winnings is 50%? n/t

[Kaleva]

38. The combined federal, state and wife tax is at least 50%

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. Wife tax?...lol....ok, fine.

The top marginal Federal rate for such a windfall is currently 35%. Since your profile says you live in Mi., you have another 4.35% to add to that. If by "Wife Tax" you mean either alimony or merely giving your wife some, well...if that adds up to 10%, then there you go.

But 39.35% is not 50%.

[Kaleva]

51. After she gets her cut, then the rest belongs to both of us.

:)

[Lucian]

12. Oh, I'd keep working.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Seriously, there's a few idiots who say that when they win. I'm willing to bet none of them are working now.

[WinkyDink]

13. Have a hospital wing built in my name; make my country-mouse cousins rich; buy a Jaguar X-KE.

[Callalily]

14. If I'd clear 35M, I'd give

several million to each of my siblings so they too could quit their jobs.

I work for a non-profit and know the importance of philanthropy, so I'd be giving a lot of money away too.

Would definitely quit my job and travel, travel, travel.

Those are plans just off the top of my head.

[liberaltrucker]

16. Move to Cuba

nt

[hayu_lol]

17. Probably buy a very large sailboat...

and live on it.

Then look around for people who really need help.

Help the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids.

Maybe buy good instruments for school music organizations and set up some scholarships for good summer camps for outstanding young musicians.

The list is endless.

[jmowreader]

18. Go somewhere that needs a lot of jobs and start companies

We can talk about charity all day long--and yes, it's important as a means to get people on their feet--but in reality, the only thing that is going to help the vast majority of the unemployed is JOBS! So, I would take about $85 million and start four or five companies that make useful products people will purchase because of their high quality and American manufacture.

[stray cat]

19. Buy a house and ensure a retirement pension for myself and siblings

[emilyg]

21. Buy a farm and have

a no-kill cat shelter.

[haele]

22. Most big money winners have problems -

There have been some research into what happens to sudden money winners who win a million+ prizes; divorce and other immediate family alienation problems are a common outcome, as well as scammers and other predators who make their living going through lottery winners lists and tracking them down.
They also forget that winning the lottery is a one-time thing; you're not going to be getting that amount of money on a regular basis; once it's spent, it's gone. Unless you were serious about putting 2/3 of it away as "investment" , there's nothing to sustain the "living large" habit that most winners fall into.

A decade or so ago, a bunch of us talked about this subject - most of what we came up with was the same "living large" dream. But one had a cousin - a nurse - who won a multi-million state lottery back in the early 90's, who hadn't had that much of change in her lifestyle - in fact, she and her husband were still working at the jobs they enjoyed, albeit a lot less stressed and not as many hours as they put in before, and were no longer hassled or approached for money.

It apparently helped that the cousin had some savings; before they claimed their winnings, they made a list of all their immediate friends and relatives that might have a claim on them, went through all their records to verify their outstanding debts, figured out their taxes off the winnings, listed exactly what they would buy, what they should bank for retirement and emergencies, figured a cost of living for the next couple years, decided what charities would get the rest, got a new phone number, a reputable lawyer and accountant. And a realtor. And a month's cruise ticket.
Then they claimed their ticket, had the accountant handle the disbursal of the winnings into the decided on accounts, put their house up for sale, had movers pack their prized possessions into a store-room, went on their cruise, and had their lawyer handle anyone that wasn't on their list of friends, family, or debtors.
When they came back, they bought a fairly modest new house with the proceeds of their old house as a down, and only let their trusted friends and family know where they moved to. There wasn't much of a change in the style of living they did, they decided that the the money was just there to pay the outstanding bills, provide for a college/retirement/emergency fund, and to donate the rest to charity. What little hand-outs or gifts they made to family and friends, they made initially with the understanding that other than special occasions, there would probably be no more, because that sort of money was not a regular income.
No "start a home business" with it's attendant risks and pressures (they weren't that type), no radical change in lifestyle to screw kids up, just knowing themselves and their limits, removing stress and living comfortably, and paying it forward as much as they felt comfortable doing.
Everything else went to charities. Probably half of the winnings, by my friend's estimate.

Which is how I would like to do it, should something like that ever come my way.

Haele

[OhioBlue]

23. pay off homes for family & set parents up for retirement

Pay off some friends' medical bills
set up a trust fund for college scholarships
set up a fund for charitable giving
Give something BIG to my cousin's daughters. She had 4 as a teen in poverty - I would have the money to buy them clothes, give them a vacation and get them some "extras" - dance lessons, music lessons, whatever.
buy a few historic properties in the town close to me and rehab them.
Build a "green" home - hire experts to design it and mentor friends and family in the building trades on how to build it and hopefully with that experience, start a company that builds "green" homes.

I would definitely quit my job - I would love to be a stay at home mom and work on things with a flexible schedule that I'm passionate about.

[DeadEyeDyck]

24. buy her folks a car and the rest to the church

[krispos42]

25. Go on the 30-year payment plan

I'm 34 now... even if I fucked up the money every single year until I was 64, I'd be only a couple of years away from Social Security and Medicaid.


Buy and furnish a house, pay off a few relatives' mortgages, buy a Chevy Volt and a Ford Mustang GT convertable. Get a dog... some kind of golden retriever mix. The woman I'm working for now, I'd invest in her business (and still work for her... I want to see if this soars or crashes!).

Set up a few charity funds where the interest (minus inflation) gets donated to the charity every year. Disabled veterans, animal shelter, suicide hotline, things like that.


If I was still living in Minnesota I would have bought a decent-sized chunk of land and made my house energy-independent and energy-effecient, but that's not going to happen in super-expensive Fairfield County. I'd install solar cells, though.


I'd get my pilot's license, too. Start off with a Light Sport Aircraft... I saw this neat one at an airshow that looked like a plexiglas egg with wings. And it weighed almost nothing... I could lift it off of one wheel by pushing up on the edge of the wing with one hand.

[Richard Steele]

26. Nothing that you would ever be aware of. nm

[old mark]

27. Give a few mil each to my siblings and spend the rest of it over the next

40 years...which would be till I was 103 or so...


mark

[Rochester]

28. Pay off the house, stockpile a lot of supplies just in case, bank the rest

Maybe build a building for my local chess club.

[XemaSab]

29. Start a chain of eco-hostels all over the Americas

There are lots of expensive B&Bs and hotels to stay at, but I think it would be fun to start a place as a sort of crash-pad-meets-summer-camp near some of the best birding areas in the western hemisphere.

The idea would be to have maybe 10 beds, and charge something like $20 a night for a bunk and $30 for a private room plus eggs and bagels, chips and sandwiches, and something simple and ethnic for dinner.

I'd hire two locals to do the cooking and cleaning, then I'd have an older couple stay for a few months for free and actually run the place when I wasn't around.

The place would be clean and simple... no frills. Run by Americans and for Americans, but with an eye towards allowing people on a budget to have a nice vacation without breaking the bank.

I'd only want to open one place in the US, along the Rio Grande in Texas. This place would be a little more upscale, like a traditional B&B. I'd get about 40 acres, landscape the hell out of them, and offer a free stay to anyone who adds something new to the list. :D

[xchrom]

30. live in paris. nt

[NewJeffCT]

31. Make sure my immediate family is secure

then, make sure my home is more eco-friendly (solar panels, improved insulation, etc)

make some choice charitable contributions.

After that, I have no clue.

[Xithras]

32. Found Eureka, only without the military BS.

I've always found the idea of providing geniuses with a blank tableau and check to be an awesome idea.

"Come to the village of Brainia! We'll give you the best food you can eat, the nicest homes you'll ever live in, all the research space you want, any equipment you need, all at no cost. The only stip? Show us an idea that will improve humanity, and that you have the brains to actually build the damned thing."

We get a 20% cut of any profits the invention generates, and we get to dictate where it's manufactured. The factories will be doled out in a competitive building process that is only open to cities with unemployment rates above 15%

Then again, $100 million may not be enough.

[Kali]

34. buy out family on the ranch, buy the place next door (currently owned by assholes)

new fencing, sink a couple wells, new vehicle

some trust fund sort of string-attached account for kids' minimum security

some traveling

then I'd probably give the rest away

[flvegan]

35. I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.

I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money, at least the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.

[Goblinmonger]

45. +1

One of my favorite scenes from that flick.

[GoCubsGo]

36. I'd take care of friends and family...

...sell the house here and buy one in a place that I like, replace my 15-year-old car, give a bunch to my favorite organizations, put a chunk of it away, and then spend the rest on volunteering for projects with Passport in Time, Earthwatch, and other similar organizations. I'd also volunteer with the local museum, zoo, and/or aquarium, and a no-kill shelter as with that kind of money, I'd just as soon let someone else have the job I might take. And, I'd also participate in some of the cool tours sponsored by the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, and Archaeological Conservancy. Anything that didn't get spent by the time I dropped dead would be donated to my favorite charities. And, if I invested it right, I could continue to give to them all along, while I am still alive.

That's if I got it all in one lump. Usually, when I buy a lottery ticket, I don't check the box where you get everything in one lump, rather you get it over time. So, all of the above would be done on a smaller, more continuous scale. And, I could honestly tell people that I didn't didn't have the money. People say one should get it all in a single lump, in case the lottery goes under down the road. My view is that I only invested a buck to get that money in the first place. It's not like I worked my ass off for it.

[rbnyc]

37. Fun!

So, I’ll go the same route as you and take the $35,000,000 lump sum.

$10,000,000 to start my own foundation. I would give exclusively general operating support grants because those are truly the most needed and I’ve been in the not-for-profit world long enough to know that foundations’ shift to giving exclusively program grants does not really have that much of a positive impact on results. I would give to a wide range of not-for-profits, but would focus on those with operating budgets less than $5,000,000 that have broad impact.

$500,000 would just be my burn money. I’d get out of debt, buy new clothes, buy gifts for people, and just put a lot of it away.

$500,000 I would give to my assistant. If you spent a week in my office, you’d understand. It’s not because he has to put up with me that he deserves it, it’s that together, we somehow manage to do great work in a seriously crazy environment.

$1,000,000 to my mom.

$1,000,000 to my dad and step mom.

$3,000,000 to an assortment of other relatives.

$700,000 to buy a new home here on Long Island. I would stay near my current neighborhood. I want to stay in this school district. I like it here because it’s very diverse. There are rentals ranging from $1,000 - $3,000 a month. There are homes ranging from $200,000 - $1,500,000. There are people who are black, white, Asian, Latino, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, you-name-it – all within about 5 square miles. I want a nice yard and a little club house for my son, a studio for me, a studio for my husband, an exercise room, a pool, and a guest room and an extra bedroom for one more child – most likely one we would adopt.

$300,000 to fix up the house and make it just how we want it.

$1,000,000 to my husband to start his dream business.

$1,000,000 to Stony Brook University Medical Center where Cliff and I were married.

$1,000,000 to my alma mater, Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

$2,500,000 in a trust for my son.

$2,500,000 in a trust for our second child.

$10,000,000 for my husband to invest. He knows what he’s doing. I’d like to pay our taxes and the bulk of our living expenses from investment income. One would hope my husband’s business would produce income. I would like to focus on my family, my foundation and get back to my writing, which could potentially produce income, but I’d like not to be worried about it.

I think that adds up.

Nice thing is that I would not move more than 10 miles from my current home and I would pretty much stay in my field. I really have so much of what I want, without very much money by local, not global, standards.

[Kaleva]

39. After paying the taxes, I'd have to ask my wife what I can do with the rest of it.

[madamesilverspurs]

41. Laundry.

Seriously, I'd have to.


-

[krispos42]

50. LOL n/t

[femmocrat]

42. Retire. And live well.

And endow a lot of animal rescue facilities which are always struggling for funding.

[quakerboy]

43. Initially, I would be very supprised.

Seeing as I don't play, it would be all the more surprising.

that said, I like these "what if" mental exercises. What If I won the lotto. What if Zombies actually showed up. What if society collapsed. What if I learned to dance. That kinda thing.

I tend toward the lump sum myself. I imagine I have enough time that the other might be equally good, but I would prefer the lump, as I feel I could do more with the larger sum. First thing is to hire competent people to deal with the legal issues sure to ensue, and the second is to hire competent financial people (more than one, Checks and balances are definitely called for with that much cash hanging around)

I would pay off all debts in my immediate family, make sure my parents, sisters, aunts, etc all have reasonable homes and autos with no debts outstanding. Eduction debts paid off, modest trusts set up for those still desiring further education. I imagine this would eat up a bit under a million.

Pay my student loans off, they are my only debt currently. I would buy a home and a pair of cars for myself and my wife. Think Eco friendly, well insulated, constructed to last, Solar, water reclamation. The kind of place that can go off grid if you have the drive to act efficiently, with enough room to grow something useful. All told, I imagine that I could get that for another million in the current economy. A second setup of similar quality in Canada.

Buy a 50 or 51% stake in the company I work for. Its worthwhile work, and I would want to remain involved for the foreseeable future. However, I wouldn't mind having more security and a bigger say in how things are done. I imagine another million or so would see that through.

A few more million, invested for retirement. I imagine the interest from a 7th million could pay the ongoing taxes/utilities, etc that might come up. An 8th million could be "blown". Travel, celebrations, handouts to random people, a block of CS to drop into a swimming pool. A super neato computer. That kinda thing.

More millions donated to causes that I consider just, enough to balance the taxes that would be due. I prefer to not donate to the war machine if I can avoid it.

The rest put into 2 foundations who's disbursements were under my control. One for charity/worthy cause type stuff. One for politics. I might just get the pull to ask a senator wtf at that point.

That's my general thoughts on the issue. At one time, just to actually map it out, I calculated out the specifics.

[MiddleFingerMom]

44. I would DEFINITELY change my mind about some of the more important things in life.

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Look.
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I understand too little too late.
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I realize there are things you say and do
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But what would you be if you didn't even try.
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You have to try.
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So after a lot of thought
I'd like to reconsider.
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Please...
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if it's not too late...
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make it a cheeseburger.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvDPezXTzlI
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[madrchsod]

46. move to sweden and drive old volvos and saabs...

[Goblinmonger]

47. 1. Get new cell phone numbers and cancel all other numbers.

2. Go to a lawyer to get it all straightened out where the money needs to go to get protected.
3. Call my boss and tell him I'm not coming in again and he can keep all the stuff in my office.
4. Cash the ticket.
5. Pay off my house and cars
6. Set up a trust to get about a million to each of my siblings and my wife's siblings (10 in total).
7. Set up a trust to pay for the college education of the nieces and nephews (and retro-pay those that have graduated).
8. Set up a trust for each of my two kids and put in enough provisions so they don't get anything if they turn into assholes.
9. Invest the rest to get a really sweet yearly income.
10. Hire one of my fellow teachers that I really like to be my son's private teacher who would travel with us and "home school" my son. If we need to study China, we go to China. (Pay the teacher enough so that his family doesn't have to work and can all travel with us--actually a two-fer since his wife is a teacher, too.)
11. Travel all over the place with the family.
12. Give a lot of money away to people that need it.

[Joe Fields]

48. Move to North Carolina.

[wickerwoman]

49. It involves a river of chocolate and Jon Stewart.

Also, finish a game of Civ IV.

Seriously, I'd invest about $10 mil to give me a decent income and give the rest away. Then I'd buy a little house and spend the rest of my life taking classes and traveling.

[darkstar3]

52. I actually did the math on this once.

First, I'd pay off a lot of debt.

Second, I'd hire a few people to help me build a little place for myself and darkspouse where we could be happy with lots of dogs. Then we'd move there and sell the place we're in.

Third, I'd setup an 4 million dollar annuity for my family designed to let us live off the interest until we die. It would be a higher standard of living than we have now, but nothing extravagant, and it would be ALL we would need.

Fourth, I'd take the rest of the money and, through shrewd land purchasing and investments, setup the best animal shelter known to man. And when darkspouse and I are no more, the annuity we were living off of would be rolled into the shelter's endowment. (We're not planning on kids.)

Everybody talks about how they would "give back". This would be my way of giving back to the most loyal beings I know.

[grasswire]

53. I'd buy the island where my ancestors were lighthousekeepers

It's Plum Island, for sale by the U.S. Government after being a research facility for a lot of years. An organization is trying to preserve it from developers. I'd buy it and help them preserve the wildlife. Maybe restore the lighthouse, too.

Then I would try to buy back some family property in Connecticut that was sold in the 1600s and 1700s. Too much land slipped away over the centuries. I have no inclination to buy the homestead my grandfather worked in Saskatchewan, though....brrrr!

Then I would open a little 40s style cafe, serving pie. I love to make pie. We would have jazz and swing and bluegrass jams. A screen door. I know just the spot; already have my eye on it.

I would hire a bulldog lawyer for the family member who is in an ugly custody spat.

And get college degrees for any family members who want/need them.

Oh, and I would put a marker on my father's and grandparents' graves.

[UrbScotty]

54. Buy an election (nt)