What would you do with $90M?

[Graeme]

Tonight, one of the Australian lotteries has a AUD$90,000,000 jackpot. There is likely to be multiple winners, but what would you do if you won the lot?

 

You can assume you can spend the lot because, unlike the USA, lottery winnings in Australia are not taxed. If you are the sole person to pick the winning numbers, you get the whole $90M.

 

For me, the number is just too large. The things I would normally consider doing -- paying off the house, giving a percentage to the rest of the extended family (say, $1M each), making some donations -- just wouldn't make a sizeable dent in that amount. If I was really generous, I would still have around $70-80M left.

 

I think I would invest most of it, live off the earnings, and then wonder what to do. We wouldn't have to work, though I probably would (I enjoy what I do), and the boys still need some stability for their education, so we wouldn't move. We also wouldn't go on lots of outlandish holidays, because the boys need the social interaction with their friends.

 

Yeah... I seriously can't think of what to do with $90M. $10M I can spend, $90M is too much to work out what to do with it....

[MikeL]

If winning AUD 90 million puts you in such a quandary, I would be willing to help. Give me half and I will gladly assume half the burden it represents.

 

If I ever win the Powerball Lottery here in the US...say USD 400 million (about $200 million cash)...I would contribute half to a charitable foundation that I would establish. US tax law limits charitable contributions to 50% of income. At a 35% tax rate, that would leave me with $65 million to live on for the rest of my life. That would probably be enough. I would have a lot of fun investing my after-tax remainder and the foundation's funds and exercising eleemosynary pursuits.

[Tipdin]

I would love to have the problem of trying to figure out what to do...!

 

I'm such a practical, (read boring) person that I'd be rather mundane about it all.

 

1. An estate for self and sibling's families

2. Trust funds for the estate and college educations

3. Safe investments that would pay dividends

 

And for me, personally, I'd like to have a personal trainer to help me get back into good physical condition.

 

...and a cool little car.

[DragonFire]

Have a harem full of hot boys to make Krista jealous!

[Graeme]

I would love to have the problem of trying to figure out what to do...!

 

I'm such a practical, (read boring) person that I'd be rather mundane about it all.

 

1. An estate for self and sibling's families

2. Trust funds for the estate and college educations

3. Safe investments that would pay dividends

 

And for me, personally, I'd like to have a personal trainer to help me get back into good physical condition.

 

...and a cool little car.

That's fine, but if you really add up what that's going to cost to do, it's nowhere near $90M. Okay, you can put all the excess into investments if you like, but what is that money actually doing? It would be making more than you would use. My point was that there is really only so much you can realistically spend. After that point, you're making money for the sake of making money -- you're not really doing anything with it. Okay, you could probably give a few people jobs, so it's not completely wasted, but is that really all there is to the life of the rich?

 

I could set up investments so not only would neither my wife nor I ever have to work again, but I could make it so my boys would never have to work, either. However, I don't think that's a good idea. I think the boys should have to work, at least for a while (say a decade), because everyone needs something to keep themselves busy. Work, while often boring and frustrating, does keep you busy. Without it, I'm not sure how much direction my life would have.

 

I'd like the luxury of being able to say I don't want to work today, but I would need something to do.

[Nephylim]

I would buy Bram Castle in Romania and move it brick by brick to Scotland. I would then have it fitted out with all mod cons but in the style of a gothic castle. I would hire the staff to man it and a landscape gardener to lay out gardens with cave and grottoes, secret tunnels, groves and orchards, follies and foibles.

 

I would need a helicopter to get there and to visit family.... the one I fancy costs about

[hh5]

well open up a few Gay runaway's Ranches!!

 

Provide a safe haven and at the same time - teach them to protect their haven and raise some cattle and grow some veggies

 

while part of the place serves as a bed and breakfast where the proceeds go towards up-keep and the kids education.

[Krista]

Have a harem full of hot boys to make Krista jealous!

 

 

You're not entitled to a Harem, being part of MY harem... dear.

 

Now, if I had 90 million I would:

 

Buy a Vacation property, an Estate to live in. Set up savings accounts and trust funds for the little brothers and sisters. Help out any family member in financial trouble. Travel in style! Give to charity and research foundations. a HUGE wedding when it comes along.. lol... a retirement party.

[KJames]

well open up a few Gay runaway's Ranches!!

 

Provide a safe haven and at the same time - teach them to protect their haven and raise some cattle and grow some veggies

 

while part of the place serves as a bed and breakfast where the proceeds go towards up-keep and the kids education.

 

 

I second your idea hh5...but don't forget the abandoneds and throwaways, too...

[Cynical Romantic]

90 million dollars is real power. That's change-the-world kind of money. Personally, if I were to win that kind of money, I'd see it as a responsibility to truly do something to change the world in a grandiose, C.J. Cregg sort of way.

 

I mean, sure, invest some, spend some lavishly, give some to friends and family. But you'll still be left with a helluvalot of money at the end of that, and what's the point of having that kind of money if you can't do something really amazing with it?

 

Then again, I'd never win that sort of money, mainly because I don't play the lottery. It's a voluntary tax on people who aren't very good at math.

[Jack Frost]

In Canada, winning lotteries aren't taxed either.

 

$90 million.

 

Fully fund my school.

Get a new car.

Buy an apartment or house.

Go on trips around the world.

Never f**king worry about money again.

Throw some to my parents for their retirement.

Pay them back for their financial support for school and living.

Buy Grandma a green Calliac that she longs for.

 

Yeah, the rest... I have no idea... $90m is a shitload of money. I'll probably throw half to charities.

 

I wouldn't change my life because of it. It just gives me loads of financial security for life.

Edited June 30, 2009 by Jack Frost

[Benji]

Tonight, one of the Australian lotteries has a AUD$90,000,000 jackpot. There is likely to be multiple winners, but what would you do if you won the lot?

 

You can assume you can spend the lot because, unlike the USA, lottery winnings in Australia are not taxed. If you are the sole person to pick the winning numbers, you get the whole $90M.

 

For me, the number is just too large. The things I would normally consider doing -- paying off the house, giving a percentage to the rest of the extended family (say, $1M each), making some donations -- just wouldn't make a sizeable dent in that amount. If I was really generous, I would still have around $70-80M left.

 

I think I would invest most of it, live off the earnings, and then wonder what to do. We wouldn't have to work, though I probably would (I enjoy what I do), and the boys still need some stability for their education, so we wouldn't move. We also wouldn't go on lots of outlandish holidays, because the boys need the social interaction with their friends.

 

Yeah... I seriously can't think of what to do with $90M. $10M I can spend, $90M is too much to work out what to do with it....

 

..........Humm, actually I have already thought this out, I would pay off all my bills, give money to my brothers and move to a place that I have wanted to for years, selling fish bait.

[hh5]

I second your idea hh5...but don't forget the abandoneds and throwaways, too...

 

oh yes ... as long as they all get along ... or learn to get a long ...

 

we should encourage a solar farm or wind farm - need free electric for the place ...

 

and create gay green jobs for teens

[NaperVic]

isn't anyone planning on funding GA so that there won't be a need for ads or supporters?

[Graeme]

isn't anyone planning on funding GA so that there won't be a need for ads or supporters?

Out of $90M, funding GA and a few other sites that I like would come out of the loose change. I had assumed that was a given. It's the big expenses that I'm thinking about (though maybe GA needs a new headquarters building... somewhere on Pennsylvania Ave in DC, maybe. A big white building would be appropriate, if the price was right).

[Benji]

Out of $90M, funding GA and a few other sites that I like would come out of the loose change. I had assumed that was a given. It's the big expenses that I'm thinking about (though maybe GA needs a new headquarters building... somewhere on Pennsylvania Ave in DC, maybe. A big white building would be appropriate, if the price was right).

 

................Maybe Madoff could give us a reasonable price on a building!!

[Tipdin]

I'm not sure about where you live, Graeme, but where I live, in Minnesota, 90 million wouldn't last all that long.

 

25 years ago, my grandparent's home on a lake in Northern Minnesota sold for just under 3M and it wasn't anything spectacular, it wasn't even one acre. They also paid over 12,000 a year in taxes back then. Neighborhood associations dues were 1,500 a year.

 

Jimmy Jam, a record producer, was selling his house on lake near me and it was listed for 20+ million. Taxes there are over 77,000 a year.

 

I'm fairy confident that I could spend 90M without much trouble. There are 19 people in my immediate family; soon to be 20. To build a house here, it easily costs over 200 dollars a square foot and say you only build a 50,000 square foot house, that alone is 10M. And that's just the house, not the land, the upkeep, the taxes, or utilities. I was looking at a fairly bland full section (640 acres) of land as possible development property and the owners were asking 55M.

 

One year of college tuition is around 65,000 - now. I have 6 kids, so that's just over 1.56M for tuition alone. Minnesota sales tax is just under 10% depending on what you're buying and where. Property tax on my house now is 9000 annually. Yeah, I think I could burn through the bulk of that 90M in no time.

 

I'd like the chance to be proven wrong, however!

[Graeme]

Okay, that's a lot more expensive than Melbourne. There are regions of Melbourne where buying a home will set you back $2M, but the vast majority of homes are less than $1M and I think the median price across the whole city is between $300K and $400K

 

Even a harbourside building in Sydney would generally be less than $10M.

 

Of course, if you're buying 640 acres near Melbourne, in an area zoned for development, you'd probably be approaching that $55M figure you mentioned, so that's comparable, but if you moved further out it wouldn't be anywhere near that much.

[Phantom]

What would I do... hmmmmm....

 

Well this is what would happen if I won...

 

1. Wait for check

2. Cash check

3. As soon as check cleared, walk out of the door to my parents house and keep walking...

4. Go from there...

 

Basically... if I won I'd RUN as far as I could from my parents and then figure out what to do

 

Eric

[Former Member]

Well Graeme you don't need to worry about what you will do with all that cash cause I'm going to be winning it all

But seriously, I have dreamed about what I would do if I won a few million but I cant even begin to think what I would do with $90.

All the usual's, house, car, family, set up some form of charity etc but that still leaves about $80m. All to much to possibly think about.

Good luck to all the Aussies with tickets though.

[Arpeggio]

I never really thought about winning the lottery, and even now that I am thinking about it, I really have no idea what I would do with all that money. My parents are both really well off and there's no point to give them money that they really don't need.... I guess I would give a good amount to each of my siblings, to pay for college and such. My tuition for whatever college I choose is pretty much paid for with the money I inherited from my grandfather.....

 

I think I would just buy a house and about 40 cars, then probably give most to charity or schools... or maybe open up a few more shelters for runaway teens around here, I'm tired of seeing them on the street because all the shelters are full.

 

Whatever is left would probably just sit in savings and collect dust.... Unless I find a way to spend about 10 million dollars in art supplies and music.

Edited June 30, 2009 by ArpeGGio

[Tarin]

~ 73,206,000 USD (assuming no taxes like you said)

 

(all approximations)

$200,000 for school. Give or take...

$30,000 Tricked out Mazdaspeed3 with custom paint...

$1000/mo rent in downtown Anywhere.

$300/mo two parking spots downtown Anywhere

$30,000 Toyota Tacoma for my dad

$30,000 Toyota Camry for my mom

$45,000 Audi A6 for my sister

$20,000 Toyota Corolla for my brother

$6,000 Snowmobile for me (w/trailer)

$30,000 Honda CRV with a hitch for the snowmobile

$200,000 for my sister's uni

$100,000 for my brother's uni

$100,000 for my cousin H's uni (his parents probably wont let me, but I will try)

$100,000 for my cousin G's uni (her parents probably wont let me, but I will try)

$30,000,000 in investments and bank accounts, yay interest, but I will still work. I'll live off my paychecks and interest.

$50,000 shopping spree, clothes

$20,000 furnishings for apartment

$100,000 to local Big Brothers Big Sisters

 

Am I anywhere close yet? Probably not. I'd make sizable donations to children's organizations like Make A Wish, children's hospitals, etc. and some to shelters and other organizations in the area. Probably in the amount of $30,000,000. That leaves me about $10,000,000 as a cushion. I would probably buy another car with that, but I don't know what. Maybe a VW Jetta TDI fully loaded or a Volvo of sorts. Something a little luxury, but nothing rediculous. A little cottage up near cousins H and G; that would set me back a million or two in itself, and be a place to store my snowmobile. The rest I guess would go to more investments. I'd pick some of my investments myself, but I'd have to have a financial advisor as that is a lot of money. A trip around the world is also in the cards. I have people I want to visit in Poland, UK, Brazil, and I always wanted to see Praha and Moscow and Tokyo and Bodo (Norway). Oh, and Iceland! But a world trip would barely dent $10 million -- I wouldn't stay at the Ritz, just normal, reasonable hotels.

I would not hire staff to wait on me, I would not hire anyone to do anything I am capable of doing. I would not leave or spoil my friends. I might invest in a friend's pool hall idea, but that would be it really.

Once I finish school that $30,000,000's interest would be tested. I would adopt at least two kids and only work part time so I could take care of them. They'd be older kids too, not infants. College for them, clothes, food, lessons, private school (not a boarding school), kids are expensive. I hope I make a lot of money in interest and whatnot. Not that I would spoil them, of course, but they would never need anything. It would mean a house too.

 

Oh, I would pay for all of GA's hosting and stuff. But everyone expected that.

[shadowgod]

90 million?

 

there is a house in the LA hills. It's amazing. Its just been listed for 15 million, and would take substantially more in ongoing restoration efforts.

 

I'd buy that, and pay for school, and a car. After that I don't think there would be much left.

 

the house though is amazing and it has all sorts of Historical landmark designations. It was designed and built by Frank Loyd Wright for Charles and Mabel Ennis.

 

yeah that's about it.

[Prince Duchess]

You know if i ever had this much money i think i would cry because thts way too much but i would definitely first mke sure me and my family are well off and then wih whats left take half and start my own business and the other half start my own charity and scholarship fund. Because honestly if someone gets 90 mil. in this recession you need to give back!!!!

[W_L]

If any of you guys win, I will help you structure the money. It is not widely remembered until it happens, but most lottery winners go bankrupt due to poor tax planning afterward in the US.

 

The reason is multi-state taxation. Powerball, Mega millions, Mega bucks, and other lotteries with over 10 million are usually set up by multiple states each having jurisdiction to tax your income gain as the lottery may go. Get a good tax accountant to re-allocate your winnings before you even cash the check. I might even advise placing the winnings within a trust that could act as a buffer between you and the states. Additional stuff like charitable deductions and exemptions can be played with.

 

If you do not heed my warning and spend without consulting a good tax accountant or financial planner, you will probably be paying 60-70 million of the winnings in taxes.

 

As for me, I would probably do a couple things with the money: First off, I would pay off all my outstanding student loans and buy a nice house to offset part of my gains.

 

Second, I would do some low level venture capitalist funding to help some new inventors on the marketplace with good ideas. Eventually, I would go into "Angel" investing aspect of venture capital funding, basically a second stage form of funding for start-ups. Most small time inventors will not be successful, so I will deal with losses along the way, but if lightning strikes, then I can turn into a powerful billionaire or possibly a Bill Gate/Walton major shareholder of a trillion dollar corporation.

 

Third, I would set up my own political action organization with the goal of creating an international movement for gay rights. I might hate lobbyists with a passion, but I know that without a good group of them, then certain things will never occur. I will not go into the details of what this organization shall do, but let's just say, I have my sights set extremely high.

 

Fourth, this will be a side project if everything else is settled, I will get myself a trip to the international space station. It would be nice to visit space and see the world literally in one view.