What if you won the lottery?
 

I see the Mega Millions multi-state lottery jackpot is over $200 million. So here's my question: Assuming you take the lump sum, and assuming Uncle Sam gets half of that, let's say you walk away with $50 million. What do you do with it?

Invest $20 million so I would never have to work again and could live quite comfortably off the interest.
Give my dad $5 million.
Give my mom $5 million.
Buy myself and all my friends cars.
Buy myself a nice house.
Vacation a lot and do some travelling.
I'd keep working, but much less than I do now. I'd try and work something out with my company so that I could still work but it wouldn't be time critical for the most part.
Any extra would just go to goodies for myself, my family, my friends. Just make sure that I was always enjoying things, and make sure the people that I cared about were having fun too.
I would definitely always pick up the bar tab :D

30 million - long term safe investments (30 year Government bonds, etc)
10 million - short term investments (5-10 year)
5 million - 1-3 year CD investments
5 million - play money (new house, new car, new everything, pay off all debts)

Find a new job that would be done for pure enjoyment and to give myself something to do all day.

I would spread the wealth to a few close friends and family... one million here, five million there...

I would create a Charitable Foundation with say, 100 million to do good works.

The rest I would invest and live of the proceeds...

travelling, doing some art... living life. I would work but mostly it would involve making films or some such endeavour.

hookers n' blow

I'd give some money to family (~10M total between my family and my wife's family)
Then I'd invest a large chunk of the remainder so that I'd be able to live off of interest for the rest of my life without working ever again. One thing for sure, I'd never work my current job ever again. Perhaps I'd work sometime but it would never be at a place that is profit motivated. As an engineer, I'd work for non-profit environmental groups specializing in cleanup. Or I'd make a lab in the basement and try to come up with new clean technologies.

After that, we'd buy some properties in different parts of the country and travel around the country till our daughter is old enough for school when we'd decide on a permanent residence during school time.

Put lots in a bank and live off the interest.

Donate a lump sum to the RNLI.

Create a fully automatic titanium desert eagle .50 cal (because you know how cool/dangerous that would be).

Buy a small island somewhere tropical and build a fort.

Buy another small island and build a holiday home.

Spend the rest on 'other' pursuits...

50 million eh?

1 Million on various fast cars.
1-2 Million on a 4 bedroom house, 2 bath, however, totally designed to have a shitload of stainless steel, and minimalist designs throughout. In cali probably.
30 Million- very safe long term investments
1 million to charity
the rest- Travel the world, and live life how its supposed to be lived!

Oh, and i'd also spend about 100,000 + dollars to have 100 select members from TFP fly in to a massive party.

College funds for each of my nieces and nephews
Pay off sisters house
Pay off brother's house
Pay off parent's house

Buy that sailboat that I crave and take off.

keep working.

pay off the immediate family debts.

keep working.

figure out retirement travel strategy.

keep working.

retire and travel around the world.

keep working.

pay off the immediate family debts.

turn this place into a horse farm faster than it's going now.

hire some folks.

keep working.

I'd be just like I am now.

But in solid gold house and lots of hookers, strippers, and porn stars.

Pay debts
Give away this house
Buy lots of land and keep it natural
Put kids through the colleges of their choice
Find abandoned old houses and refurbish them
Sizable donations to World Wildlife Fund and other conservatory charities(maybe the biggest chunk of the winnings)
Travel

I wouldn't split up the capital - it is more valuable handled as a portfolio than piecemealed among relatives and friends. I would set up an income generating trust with several people for whom I care deeply as beneficiaries, but I would maintain investment control.

Let's see...a coupla' houses...
Coupla' cool cars...
Nice entertainment area (a He-man women-hater club):lol:
And I would travel.
And go back to school and not stop until I can't bring myself to be curious about ANYTHING. ELSE. EVER.

Smite my enemies.

1. Pay off personal debts to parents.
2. Pay off parents' house or buy them a new one.
3. Get my brother a nice as hell place to live- by himself- while he finishes school (several more years, he's gonna be a Veterinarian). I say by himself because right now he has 3 roommates.
4. Pay off small debt to best friend.
5. Buy a house. Really comfortable, nice, but not insane. Go nuts on personal touches inside (read: theater room).
6. Stop my current job, get to writing full-time. Make a movie in the near future.

$50 million -

$5 million to charity
$5 million to my parents and 4 siblings (all are adults)
$1 million to my ex-wife
$4 million for my 2 kids
$2 million to friends
$1 million to pay off debts and improve lifestyle
$2 million to open a cigar bar
$15 million invested in real estate

remaining monies invested and saved
I would probably quit my job (real estate/law) and operate my bar.

First off, I'd be paying off any debts I have.
Invest a good portion of it.
Pay off all debts any immediate family member has.
Give some (like a million) to the church.
Donate/start some charitable fund.
Travel.
Get a job that pays me to have fun.

Pay of all debts
Buy an older larger house in an established neighborhood. (New construction sucks)
Set up a trust fund for my kids.
Give my parents some play money.
Set up some secure investments for myself.
Keep working (perhaps for myself)
Have a little more "fun" than I have now.

I don't anticipate too many major life changes.

Buy Shaq's house.

Set aside about 30 million in investments.

Donate a few million to the Intrepid Fallen Heros Fund.

Then buy almost anything I want.

Invest most of it.

Help all of my friends that were in need.

Start my own business.

Build my dream home up the coast.

"Goes out to buy lottery ticket"

Oh......And donate here bigtime.

give my parents 10 million
Give my siblings each 2.5 million to do what ever the hell they want to do.
Give a couple million to charity
Realizing the dream of having my own restaurant.
Travel the world every year.
Maybe even go to the moon :D

Invest it and travel like a maniac on the dividends.

Guns. Lots of guns.

call up my financial advisor and drop 40 mil on track towards my legacy...



with the rest, get my daughter back, pay off all of my and the missus's debts, then take both of my sweethearts around the world. when we get back, i'll build us a house that's wired and set up just the way it should be, then open up a comic book shop with all the best in geekery and enjoy life.

The only thing my employer would ever hear from me again would be the ice jingling in my glass and my insane laughter as I hung up the phone.....

BTW -- I'll call you tomorrow :D ....... maybe.

Actually for the greedy person people think I am... I would donate some of it.... about half of it would go to research for Ohio State Medical Centre...

my immediate family would probable all get houses with the mortgages paid off..... about two million each for spending cash.

my friends would get about a million each.....

I would buy myself alot of land and make it into a game reservation of Ohio wildlife and I would probably travel for about a year throughout the world.....

flipping off my boss would be nice... even though I would work cause doing nothing is boring... but full time instead of being a part time student.... and working at a golf course too.... just so that I can golf for free.... I probably move back to canada also and finish university there.....

alright I've given this way too much thought.....

That would be a hell of a night at the strip club!

Actually I would keep it as low key as possible while I carefully invested for the future. Then I would try to find a way to slink away without any co-workers knowing why. I would still volunteer as a doctor, but I would never charge (ever heard of Good Samaritin laws).

Oh, and I'd play in the WSOP every year.

And play games with Brunson, Ivey, Hellmouth, etc.

10 million to parents
5 million to sister
5 million to distribute among other relatives
18 million to investments
2 million to blow in 1 year on anything (cars, nice apartment, travelling)
10 million to charity

Buy an island, a helicopter, a brewery, and a couple ho's

(oh, this is after my missus takes half and the kids)

S

I would quit my job and do absolutely nothing for the rest of my life. I'd sleep in till 5 PM every day, party each night..

I would invest 10 million of it. In case I spent all the rest. Living off that interesting alone would be nice.

I've give my family members a good portion of it.

Buy pretty much whatever I wanted.

If I won that much money ... I'd give a nice interview. Usually they ask "What would you spend the money on?" on nat'l TV. I'd probably say something like "Drugs, prostitutes, and pornography." just because that would rile everyone up. Man, I'd love to see the looks on the faces of those who are watching that interview.

buy more lotto tickets!!!! :P

Hmmmm, $50 million ....

Buy some land with a nice $500, 000 house on it, plus toys.
2 new, moderate/dependable cars
1 non-practical car
Vacation for at least 6 months

$5 million to parents and family

$2 million to "in-laws" and family (my family has been financially helpful, unlike this family)

Nice donation to church, in grandmothers' names.

Scholarship for needy, financially-strapped kid

Invest the rest and live off the interest, while volunteering at a place that helps others ... maybe start-up a small business in something that really interests me.

Buy this place;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...397218266&rd=1

Invite all my friends to the best undergound party ever.

Whatever comes to mind.

Hire a tax attorney and accountant to keep informed.
Share a bit with family and friends.
But a huge chunk of land and build a $5 million house with a $500,000 garage fully stocked with tools. swimming pool, gun range, bar and movie theatre.
Have a fleet of RV's for family and friends to use.
Build a guest complex with extra nice amenities.
Buy a 60+ acre bass lake and build a house, dock and boathouse.
Buy a pike lake in Alaska.
Take a round the state trip to find a great place for a remote lodge. Build lodge and stock accordingly.
Red truck, yea, I want a big red truck... and a Jeep too.
Various Alaskan boats.
Various ATV's
Travel and build things in the winter, enjoy all the summer.
Have a free Audioslave concert at the Alaska Fair.

Call me shallow, but 50% taxes is all the free money the public can have.

50 mil..

20mil investment (with aid of someone whom understands financing as I have no clue)

2.5 mil brother
2.5 mil sister
5 mil parents to retire comfortably

~10k go to school for computer animation

unknown number start game development company

travel

some to charity

some to hopefully soon to be s/o

body kit, spoiler, paint, roll cage, low profile tires, huge shiny rims, engine modifications... on my cavalier :D

buy an apartment or some place in mexico maybe

Trips, trips, and more trips. And guitar strings.

Finish fixing our one car. Buy a second more reliable car, buy that house we're wanting. Redo the roof on it and put up a new garage for it. Invest the rest - which would be around $45million. Then keep doing day care. I enjoy it.

We recently had an office pool of forty people, forty numbers for the texas lotto which was up to 145 million. I figured that lump sum =70 mil; Uncle Sam gets 35 mil, leaving everyone with a little less than 1 million. Not enough to buy planes and islands, but enough to pay off our house and our parents' houses, kill my school loans, and I'd still work, but with a fairly hefty cushion.
50 million is entirely different. My dream would be to buy an island, invite all my friends and family, recruit some people, and start my own country. I could try to get a seat at the UN, and enter myself in the olympics. Probably diving -Cannonball!
Really, I'd contact a really high powered attorney with lots of malpractice insurance. Give him the ticket, and tell him to set up a fancy trust to take care of me and avoid as much tax as possible while sheilding me from liability, so that I wouldn't have to deal with the money, and it would be his ass if he lost it. Then pay off everything of mine and my family. Then travel and write for a year, then go back to being a lawyer, but this time helping the little guy that can't afford legal help, but not taking a huge cut.

360 degree view. Few Neighbors. Private, secluded location.

sounds like my kind of missle compound!

I read an interesting study that essentially proved that people that come into a large sum of money are right back where they started in 3 to 5 years because they don't try to change their relationship with money. People that are used to money, on the other hand, typically take 3 to 5 years to become rich again after losing everything.

First thing: Get a financial advisor. You need to learn how to accumulate wealth and not just piss it away.

50 Million

5 million to parents
5 million to sister
10 million in long term investments
20 million in revenue investments
5 million for estate / car / animals (horses and dogs)
1 million for the best vacation EVER with someone special
1 million divided between my friends to get them what they always wanted (prolly no student debts)
3 million for charity

Pull out 1 million to pay off my current debt, and the debt of my family and friends.

Put everything else in to a stable investment for 1 year and not touch it until I had time to hire a superb investment counsellor and let the fact that I had just won 50 million dollars sink in. That would allow me time to plan and figure out the best plan of attack for how to handle that much money and keep a solid grounded life for my family.


Oh, and I'd probably eat out. Often... that is until I bought my new house with an awesome kitchen, stopped working, and had time to cook those awesome meals you see on the Food network.

Put it all on the line...one hand of blackjack

that would rule!

I keed

Well if I where american I would go nuts buy all family and friends cool shit....then Invest the rest so I wont have to work ever again. Then probably start my own Mod Shop!

If I had $200 million, I would buy ice cream....

For every man, woman and child...

IN THE WORLD

Aside from the normal get out of debt, help family etc

My "fantasy", not sure about the practicality, is to buy an old castle in the Highlands of Scotland, make part of it into mine and my hubby to be's "dungeon" with all the BDSM goodies, buy enuff kilts for him to wear for a LONG time.....and raise Highland Cattle

I'm shocked that so many people would keep working. There must be a lot of people that are working their dream jobs right now.

I might work again after winning that much money but I'd never work at a place directed towards making money for some group of investors that don't give a shit about the masses that work their whole lives to make what they do in a few months (or weeks in many cases).

The only work I'd do would be towards making life better for individual people of humanity as a whole.

I'd also do 2 chicks at once!

why do you need 200 Million for?


Im broke and I have done it twice:D

I dunno how many people would be doing the SAME job, maybe they just said A job.

invest most of it, buy a laptop, a few desktops, and purchase memberships to every subscription linux distro there is. i'd also donate to the red cross. now to the really selfish part. pimp car, pimp house, and pimp ladies

I've wanted to work with kids since I was 12. I hated teaching as the administration at my school was crap. With my own at home day care granted I don't make THAT much and I go nuts every winter around January but I love the kids and I don't have to deal with anyone but their parents. I can see the difference I make in the kids. I've seen growth in so many kids and growth that I've influenced. It's a fulfilling job working in an area I've always wanted to. I'd most definately keep working. I just wouldn't worry about loosing a kid when they were sick or when they moved away that sort of thing.

I'd hire some big guy to follow my roommate around, and whenever he tried to get some ice cream the big guy would slap it out of his hands and be all like "No ice cream for you, asshole!"

I'd buy a superbowl ad that just flashed the word "burrito" in green and pink letters for two minutes during halftime.

Most importantly, though, I'd finally get to see my lifelong dream of a giant robot Hitler destroying Milwaukee come to fruition.

Well there goes your 50 million ;)

I'd also like to build a race track for the NASCAR circuit....only the races run at MY track would be run in the other direction!!!

Take over the world!!!

they do that in Australia:D

i sent a mill to the TFP and 5k to Halx him self, then live simply for the rest of my days relaxing and learning.

I would lay in fields somewhere in Europe and paint. And then I too would just run some totally messed up ad campaign. Maybe not during the super bowl, but I think the world needs to be more aware of tourettes or brain freezes, something like that.

I would do anything possible to keep it a secret. I would only want my family and closest friends to know. Not even my neighboors. At first I wouldn't even buy a new house. I love my house, I love my location.

The first things i'd spend some on are
A $60,000 dollar home theater system
$50,000 completely redone basement.
$5,000 computer

I wouldnt even buy an insanly expensive car. A nice $50,000 to $70,000 car would be nice. I don't want some Lambroghini or something.

Donate some.
Play with some.
Put my kids and family through college.
Pay debts.
Invest.
Travel.
The usual
(Only, I wouldn't hand out cash to anyone -- I'd invest it and give gifts. For example, college tuition paid for with the condition that a 2.5 gpa is maintained. I hate seeing anything, including financial recourses, wasted.)

50 million dollars? Best.Computer.Ever.

And a brand new car.

More electronics than you or your GRANDFATHER can handle.

Donate to charity, sure why not.

Keep working.

that would be one damn sweet computer!