The Powerball lottery is up to $1 billion tonight. If you won it, what would you do?
Realistically, and assuming I claimed it and handled the financial and legal aspects of having that much money, I’d do this;
Pay off my debts, as well as those of my parents and sister, then help friends pay off everything. Then buy a nice house and nice stuff, leave my job, then travel.
Then I’d see what sorts of things I can use my money to improve, or who I can help.
While money is nice for security, I don’t need or want anywhere remotely close to 1$billion at one time. That amount of money is dangerous.
A billion is dangerous, but even smaller amounts like paying off other people’s houses could be dangerous for them too. It’s a huge change.
I know a guy who inherited a house. He was basically able to live rent free for the rest of his life if he had been smart about it. However he has some issues and those were only magnified by his lack of obligations. He’s now out of a job, unemployable due to lack of education and experience and might now be forced to sell the house, because creditors and taxes are coming for everything he owns. The house is also worthless by now, because he hasn’t managed the upkeep.
Eventually, when he sells the house at whatever it’s worth and whether he does it voluntary or not, he’ll burn through that money too. He’s not eligible for social security as he owns too much. If it had not been for the house, he could have been helped by either by the health care system to get sorted out and get a job or by getting an early sickness retirement scheme if he was diagnosed as such. As of now, he can only wait until he’s poor enough again.
Anyway, I’d probably give my family and friends monthly instalments instead of removing their obligations with a lump sum, and also on the clear condition that I can choose to stop it at any time.
I honestly don’t have a ton of friends, and those I do have im very close with, so I know I’d feel confident paying off some of their debts. I’m aware that money can ruin things very quickly.
I don’t want to give money, but just help out. I’m really not a materialistic person.
Keep it a secret until my kids finished school and became adults. Then travel for endless summer, or maybe autumn. have some investments as backup in case things go balls up
I guess you’re kind of right, in that they’re both essentially 0. But the odds of winning the lottery are still …millions? of times higher to win by buying one than finding a winning ticket on the street.
/pedantry
Make sure my mom’s in home health care is paid for for the rest of her life, so that she can continue to live in her house as she wishes while she is still with us, retire from my paid career early, do volunteer work instead, and travel often.
Build a high-speed train from Columbia, SC to Charleston, SC. In the grand scheme of things, it might seem like a waste of money. But man, for the few dozen years I’ve got left on this earth, it would be awesome to see & experience.
Good luck buying off enough politicians to out-spend the automobile lobby to get regulatory approval.
🤔 If you invested the money properly and ensured you’d get billions in revenue every year, you could do it. Money talks
Pay off my mortgage, invest it and live off the interest, and spend the rest of my life traveling with my wife
Among other things, I’d keep going to work. I enjoy my job. What I’ll really enjoy is every time someone tries to pawn off something on me that’s not actually my job I’ll tell them, “not my job”
Being able to go in to work without the same fears that usually accompany those living paycheck to paycheck even if they enjoy the work must be the most freeing thing ever. Knowing you are now untouchable financially so can take a stand if something annoys you enough.
I paid off all of my debts and have a few months saved up. Same feeling I think. It is the most freeing feeling I’ve ever felt. Like a mini retirement.
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Yeah I’m freelance and really love my work. It’s rewarding and impactful. Without any doubt these things are true. I’d probably cut back my hours a bit. But I’d just tell my clients that my services are now free.
Not tell anyone and just quietly retire. Spend as much time as possible with my kids as they grow.
Not possible in some states, unfortunately :/
Yeah, in my state when you win they have a picture of you holding a check that airs on rotation on every lottery machine for months.
My wife’s best friend won $1M and everyone recognize her at all the bars because of it. She got the last laugh because she blew all that money and now nobody can get any of it out of her.
Exactly. Do as little as required by the laws of where you live and immediately get the fuck away from wherever you are and start the process to emigrate to a different country. Christmas and Thanksgiving will now be done over video chat.
You won’t fly your family in on your private jet?
Too many eggs in one basket
Nope. They’re the ones most likely to murder me. Just me, my wife, and our cats. Minimal chances of murder. Except from one of the cats but if it comes down to it, I think I can take her.
Sleep.
This user knows.
My wife and I were thinking about this last week. We were wondering about personal security. At least where we live, they like to make a spectacle of the big winner with photo op, publish name and how town, etc. We wondered if that would invite trouble for the winner. For instance, would people try to break in expecting you to have valuables? Would you be a target for kidnapping and ransom? What about your family or close friends, would someone kidnap them to get you to pay ransom on? Even if you immediately spent it all, would people still try, not knowing it’s all gone? I’m with you, I’d keep it as secret as I could.
Like a lot of trouble, the worst doesn’t come from strangers, it comes from people you know. By all accounts, what happens is that anyone who knows you comes out of the woodwork and suddenly wants a favor, or a small loan, or an investment in their brilliant business idea, and of course you’re the asshole if you deny any of them. If you can’t keep it a secret entirely, it’s best to at least lock up the money somewhere so that you can blame the big mean lawyer who is “making” you be responsible and not blow it all on your second cousin’s crypto app.
The guy who won “over a billion” (that’s not what he got to keep) has headlines with his full name, what real estate he’s bought, lawsuits brought against him and he’s had to get body guards.
Because california forces a person to claim it and anonymity isn’t allowed.
Keep playing to get more rich.
Most professional gamblers quit just before a big victory. I won’t make that mistake.
THIS is the right answer. So many idiots in this thread.
I think you’re right. I’ll put my whole welfare check on powerball tonight.
Have you considered a payday loan so you could buy for next months welfare check as well? Don’t want to miss out for sure.
Tear the ticket up and throw it away.
My life is bad enough, without the lottery ruining it further with constant harassment, death threats, attempted muggings, entitled family demanding handouts, new “relatives” magically materializing from the ether, etc etc.
If I want to fuck my life up that badly, I’ll start doing heroine and meth. I’d probably have better 10 year survival prospects, as well.
I think it’s a valid answer. Money isn’t everything.
Imma buy a big house, tho, then a Rivian or something. Or maybe a share in a New Zealand bunker.
What the hell?? You should at least sell it to someone. Do you know how much money you’d make?!
FUNNY YOU SAY THAT! There’s this brazilian politician, Joao Alves, who, back in 1993 alone, “won” the lottery 56 times, to a sum of roughly 17 million USD. Turns out buying smaller lottery wins is a great way to launder money, much like “winning” at a casino or betting house.
Just because bad things befell other lottery winners doesn’t mean it’ll happen to you, though. You have the power to act on the wisdom of the past and do better than your predecessors, and one needs to have the courage to do so to get anywhere in life.
Don’t let your life pass you by, fren
“Just cause bad things happened to others, doesnt mean they’ll happen to me!”
I bet you’d be great at Russian Roulette.
Fuck off
Train a private army to invade Russia.
Run off and never be seen again. Maybe live in a bunker idk
Only fools take the lump sum
Cut my hours back at work, maybe take a sabbatical spend much more time with my kids, and go to art school. I’m pretty good at it, but it wasn’t in the trailer park cards.
