Win the lotto, have your mysterious billionaire relative leave it to you, etc. You end up with $100 million dollars.

What would you do with 100 Million Dollars?

I'll start, with my unexciting but very real answer. :)

I would pay off any remaining debt, buy a few hundred acres in the North Cascades then build a small but well equipped home there.

With the remainder (and that should be about 99% of it) I would then set up a trust to manage the funds and pay a nice yearly dividend that would cover our living expenses(costs, philanthropic endeavors, wild hairs, etc.), and provide for my family in case of something happening.

After that, it would just be a matter of filling my time doing things that I love. Starting a small business, hiking, spending time outside with my family.

K

Edited by keith_bassett on 04/05/2012 09:56:33 MDT.

Leave immediately and attempt the triple crown in a year. Scary thing is that I have a rough plan on how I would do it.

Check in with my accountant and lawyer first.
Major purchases would be a new Subaru and a Go trailer.
Major lifestyle change would be leave town with my hiking buddy and hit the road.

the average person can not handle the stress of a $100 million.
would cause more unhappiness than happiness.

you should reduce your question to $10 million.
you could still easily do everything you mentioned above.

Anything I want. And date cheerleaders.

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Art,

That number was inspired by this article and the Lotto winnings from last week.

Interestingly, the doctor in the article says that people adapt to having untold wealth very rapidly. You end up being as happy or unhappy as you were before it, because your happiness is a function of who you are as a person not how much you have.

And with this last weeks Lotto, it seemed to be the question in the air. :)

Edited by keith_bassett on 04/05/2012 11:52:46 MDT.

It would depend on how I acquired the money. If I won the lottery, I'd actually only be awarded 50 million (prize equals half of total ticket sales), and Uncle Sam is gonna want his share in taxes come next April, so I'd actually end up with only about 25 million, give or take.

Personally, I haven't given it much thought, but off the cuff:
I'd build a new house, probably in the same neighborhood as I live now.
I'd pay off my bills and student loans, then pay off my parents and In-Laws bills.
Buy two new cars, nothing fancy, I'd like a Honda Ridgeline, maybe a new Jeep for my wife. I'd upgrade my In-Laws 5th wheel and truck, theirs is kinda dated. Do something roughly equal for my parents. They don't RV camp, so I don't know.
Set up college funds for my son and maybe a few other friends/family members that couldn't go to college without it.
I'd donate a good chunk to some real charity, or medical research.
I'd conservatively invest the rest to ensure I never need money again.

I'd finish my grad school, and still work.

And I'd enjoy looking at my 7-figure bank account.

Buy 25 to 50 acres of land with a stream running trough it with a small town nearby. Leave most of it wild land except 1 and half acres for home ,farming,pond right in the center of the property. Go off the grid and build a small 600 Sq.Ft. Rammed Earth ship house Like Dennis Weaver built. Install solar,wind,water power with a big battery bank system for energy, dig a well for water. Dig a small pond for the stream to flow in out of and a farm about 1 acre of land for food. Basically a self sufficient house that totally off the grid.

Vehicle: Get a 67 Volkswagen van with lots of spare parts and engines and also extra vans to replace the old one if totaled in accident. You may ask why a Volkswagen van because they are very easy to work on by a normal person I also know how to work on them.
Travel around to my favorite backpacking and surfing spots once in while.

Put money in regular saving account live off the interest . Help a few of my relatives who are struggling right now with gifts of money.

Basically live a simple life that I like.
Terry

Am I evil. Yes I am. For my needs $100M may not be enough, but presumably you meant a bazillion gazillion.

Basic necessities for being middle class makes me happy enough, so starting with the idea that i cannot take it with me... Looking at long lasting social good.

The basic logistics:
with this large sum, physical security from kidnapping for ransom becomes critical. The dozen people in my immediate family will have ninjas guarding them without being seen. Why ninjas? because I like sushi and samurais yell too much.

karma pay back:
All the humble people who have done well for the community over the years will find positive rewards in strange places. The list:
The good doctors that have done my parents' surgeries flawlessly, will get $500K each to donate to their special charities. Doctors make enough money and don't need cash, but charities could use it. The charities will get the dividends from the funds, so it has a long term lasting value. Charities blow money too.

Children causes:
I don't blame young children for the mistakes of their parents. so all children burn victims and amputees will get the prosthetic and surgeries if they want them. I will also buy the prosthetic company, move the factory to the US, to make sure there's no stupid poison chemicals.

sex offenders in prison:
every rapist and pedophile released from prison will get $5000 bonus, if they voluntarily consent to be spayed or neutered. and I mean removal of the balls, with a lifetime supply of suppressant medication. They can chose NOT to take my money. it's a free country. They served their time, I don't want them to be repeat offenders, and i don't want them to have any more children. a little un-natural selection and Darwinism here, may be Hilterism. I'll buy my own hospital for this purpose too.

Sea levels are rising:
I have a solution for this problem long time ago. have a tunnel trench dug from the sea to places that are below sea level. Basically turn Death Valley into what it was a few thousand years ago. The death valley white people golf course will have to go. The Amargosa Indian reservation will be beach front property, and they will be rich. When sea level rises, it will spill over into the cavities below sea level.

New Orleans and flood zones:
This is stupid, they are rebuilding homes that will be flooded again and again. i will buy up all that high risk land. compensate the residents, and turn that land into something low risk low population, like a golf course or a national park.

New world order:
I like to ride my bicycle. I like to drive my 4Runner. The 2 can never safely share the same road. Bicycle lanes in busy cities are death traps. I will engineer a new city with a bicycle lane separated from street cars by a wall, and bridges to protect from cars turning right.

More children causes:
I know from close friends and family in the US that its easier to adopt Russian, Chinese and Central/South American, than it is to adopt a US orphan child living near by. This is another stupid obstacle. I will hire process improvement experts, to simplify this and spend on marketing to the public and lawmaker for a fix.

family:
I like the Bill Gates, Wozniak and Francis Ford Coppola approach to money and children. "I am rich, but you are not" the kids have to go out and find their own fortune. family kids will get access to education, but they have to pay at least 25% to 50% of the tuition. I worked 3 jobs and put myself to college without any loans. I pushed shopping carts at Target in the early 1990s, that is how I got T-Rex hiking leg muscles.


I am also very inspired by the advice King Phillip gave to his son Alexander the Great: "My son, ask for thyself another kingdom, For that which I leave is too small for thee."

That's enough for now.


Bring on the flames. I welcome your feedback.

Edited by RogerDodger on 04/05/2012 11:46:42 MDT.

If 100 million falls on my lap -- I'd pay off the taxes -- then keep $2-3M for myself and donate all the rest.

Edited by ben2world on 04/05/2012 17:33:37 MDT.

Forgot to add: all donations will be made anon. Not even my family will know about this money. :)

I would build a nice house on a nice lake someplace, it would have geothermal, solar, wind power, battery storage, on a well with a backup well, etc. Basically off the grid with $0 utility bills and low maintenance. I would have a couple cars and a couple boats, an awesome dock with outdoor kitchen. Not a mansion, maybe 3,000 SF but really nice, gated on about 4-5 acres, any grass would be fake grass, zeriscaped landscaping, fruit trees and bushes all over the property, nice garden setup, maybe some chicken coops and a few goats. I would put enough money into a savings account/trust that it would perpetually pay the taxes on the house and add back to the principal to account for future tax increases. This way even if I was broke I could keep and live in this house with little to no bills, no worry about paying the taxes.

I would buy a couple nice vehicles, like maybe a fully loaded Tahoe for me, I know my wife wants a Range Rover. I would have a ski boat and a pontoon boat.

I would immediately start shopping at Fresh Market or Whole Foods and constantly have my house stocked with wholesome, organic food, tons of fresh fruit and vegetables. I would learn to cook chef quality healthy food dishes so that I was constantly supplied with healthy food options. In conjunction with that I would start a daily exercise routine including Cross Fit, jogging, biking, weight lifting, yoga, mix it up and just get really healthy. No fun being rich if you aren't healthy.

From there I would just take it easy, travel some and figure out what I wanted to do with my life, probably start or work for a charity benefiting children and/or animals once I got bored doing nothing.

Anything else I would wanted I would rent. No need to own yachts, islands, multiple homes when you can just rent any of that that you want.

Edited by TylerD on 04/05/2012 11:49:03 MDT.

Purchase a huge plot of wild land in northern NM Sangre de Cristos and open up that jackelope ranch I've been dreaming of.

Build an intricate trail network for running on said plot of land.

Build up a race directing business and staff and put on the best trail running/ mountain ultramarathon events in the southwest.

Establish a backcountry program for at risk NM youth.

Build a dream darkroom and wet lab outfitted with analog photography equipment.

Give away a considerable amount of that wealth so that I don't completely screw it all up.

I don't think it would change the way I live at all. I like to live a modest life style and have enough to do whatever I want to do.

So it would be mostly be given away to good causes. Preserving animal habitat is probably my #1 passion so that area would get most of it.

Winning that much money will likely cause untold stress and suffering.
Just send it to me and forget about it.
Franco

I would immediately realize its not enough, then drive to Vegas and squander it all in a 48 hour mad frenzied attempt to parlay it into a $ billion.

Nothing, my wife would take it from me :)

I'd spend it.

All of it.

On me.

Probably within a year.

And I'd have a heck of a good time.

By myself.

A lightweight woven dyneema fabric.

Find or make my perfect walking shoes.