What would you buy if you suddenly received a Billion dollars? What organizations would you support?

$1,000,000,000 in your bank account. More money than you could spend in many lifetimes. What would you do? Would you make drastic changes to your life?

[Edited 9/6/10 13:26pm]

Take care of close friends and family.

I'd support many different charities, a lot actually.

And I'd adopt another child, maybe two.

My children go to a private school that is run by a charitable trust. The family that donates to my kids school is a god send to me and my family and many other families. I think it is a wonderful, generous loving thing they do. I would support education.

I would donate to AIDS research, new energy techonologies and clean water. I would set up trust funds for most of my kids

(nieces, nephews etc) and support at least one business venture, research project and school.

I would educate both my daughters and nieces to PhD's if they wanted and set up trusts for them. My sister would be debt free.

the rest would be mine to travel the world with.

I could spend a billion dollars in a day. Shoot, I betcha I could do it on a number of hours. I'd buy MASSIVE amounts of land all over the US. Somewhere in NorCal near the coast on the land I purchased I'd build my own castle. When those small towns go up for sale on ebay I'd buy all of them, then develop them. Skyscraper in SF up for sale - oh yeah, it would be mine. I'd build my own personal FULL-SIZE cruise ship with things like indoor basketball courts and olympic sized swimming pools, all multi-room suites, of course. Both of them would have state of the art recording studios. I'd buy every instrument I've ever wanted, twice! From hundreds of years old stringed ones right up to the newest electronic gadgets released this year. I'd build the worlds biggest skate park. The freakin' Disneyland of skate parks. Buy a professional sports franchise! Umm - yeah. Gimme a billion - I'll spend it.

I would definitely work with alternate energy sources as much as possible, though. Particularly investing in large scale solar and wind power improvements. They're both free, after all.

[Edited 9/6/10 14:42pm]

I'd get my own jet and crew

for the next couple of years fly around wherever I wanted

I don't know how it could be done, but I'd pour my money into social work, so no more neglected kids fly under the radar and die starved in their cots.

First I'd buy myself a new set of teeth, then I'd get a car and a house. Maybe open an occult shop.

I'd give City Year some money for sure.

[Edited 9/6/10 17:36pm]

[Edited 9/6/10 18:35pm]

Ensure friends and family are taken care of.

Donate to a handful of charities I feel strongly about.

Set up a home here. Something modest, all things considered. I'm not big on flash.

And I'd spend the rest of my days traveling and seeing the world in between visits home with family and friends. And once I'm ready to settle in somewhere for a time, I'd probably do a lot of volunteer work.

I used to think I'd want to start my own business, but with that kind of money I don't think making any more would interest me at all. So I'd do all the things I feel like I don't have time or the means to do now and all without worrying about how I'm going to sustain myself.

NONSENSE said:

What would you buy if you suddenly received a Billion dollars? What organizations would you support?

$1,000,000,000 in your bank account. More money than you could spend in many lifetimes. What would you do? Would you make drastic changes to your life?

[Edited 9/6/10 13:26pm]

I'd take care of immediate family and close friends, make sure my niece and nephews are set for life, move into Manhattan, and live a nice, quiet existence. My spending habits wouldn't change one bit. 'Frugal" has always been my middle name.

....effa family and friends! They can hang out on my land, ship and in my castle.

Pay off everything. I ain't owin nobody shit anymore!! NO.MORE.BILLS.

Then I'm out!! Permanently traveling. Always gone somewhere.

Cerebus said:

I could spend a billion dollars in a day. Shoot, I betcha I could do it on a number of hours. I'd buy MASSIVE amounts of land all over the US. Somewhere in NorCal near the coast on the land I purchased I'd build my own castle. When those small towns go up for sale on ebay I'd buy all of them, then develop them. Skyscraper in SF up for sale - oh yeah, it would be mine. I'd build my own personal FULL-SIZE cruise ship with things like indoor basketball courts and olympic sized swimming pools, all multi-room suites, of course. Both of them would have state of the art recording studios. I'd buy every instrument I've ever wanted, twice! From hundreds of years old stringed ones right up to the newest electronic gadgets released this year. I'd build the worlds biggest skate park. The freakin' Disneyland of skate parks. Buy a professional sports franchise! Umm - yeah. Gimme a billion - I'll spend it.

I would definitely work with alternate energy sources as much as possible, though. Particularly investing in large scale solar and wind power improvements. They're both free, after all.

[Edited 9/6/10 14:42pm]

I love your attitude... Life is short why be a penny pincher if you had that much money. I wouldn't spend it all tho... I'd save 3 or 4 hundred million

Thank you all your thoughts. I love hearing what people would do if they had more money than they could ever spend.

I'd let my daughter know and maybe my mother. That's it. Then I would quietly quit my job and move somewhere new without telling people because I don't want everyone asking for money.

I'd probably keep a small residence near true friends to visit from time to time. I'd rent it out while I was gone perhaps. Not that I need the money, but that way they don't wonder about my income and ask me questions.

College Education

House

Car

Travel

Charity

NONSENSE said:

Cerebus said:

I could spend a billion dollars in a day. Shoot, I betcha I could do it on a number of hours. I'd buy MASSIVE amounts of land all over the US. Somewhere in NorCal near the coast on the land I purchased I'd build my own castle. When those small towns go up for sale on ebay I'd buy all of them, then develop them. Skyscraper in SF up for sale - oh yeah, it would be mine. I'd build my own personal FULL-SIZE cruise ship with things like indoor basketball courts and olympic sized swimming pools, all multi-room suites, of course. Both of them would have state of the art recording studios. I'd buy every instrument I've ever wanted, twice! From hundreds of years old stringed ones right up to the newest electronic gadgets released this year. I'd build the worlds biggest skate park. The freakin' Disneyland of skate parks. Buy a professional sports franchise! Umm - yeah. Gimme a billion - I'll spend it.

I would definitely work with alternate energy sources as much as possible, though. Particularly investing in large scale solar and wind power improvements. They're both free, after all.

[Edited 9/6/10 14:42pm]

I love your attitude... Life is short why be a penny pincher if you had that much money. I wouldn't spend it all tho... I'd save 3 or 4 hundred million

Thank you all your thoughts. I love hearing what people would do if they had more money than they could ever spend.

I used to be REALLY hardcore on the charity and enviromental front. I've actually lost friends and angered family members over my views in the past (not to mention had some GREAT online fights).

Five years ago I would have considered giving some of the billion to charity. Probably the SF Aids Foundation (who I've actually donated to a lot). Ten years ago I would have had a list of charities ready to give a large percentage of that money to. Fifteen years ago I probably would have answered that I'd only keep ten million for myself (because that's more than I would ever "need") and I'd give the rest away.

However, the older I've gotten - the more I read, observe and learn - the more I've come to the realization that unless every single person on the planet changes their ways, like, yesterday!, it's not going to make a difference. We're very far PAST too late. Since any sane and logical person will realize that the world is full of people who are NEVER going to change their ways in the slightest, I've lost a lot of hope in this regard. It's a pretty good bet that two to three generations from now the planet is going to be vastly different. Four or five and the lifestyle we know will more than likely have collapsed, or be in the process of doing so. There is a very real chance that humanity won't survive at all. Yellowstone could see to that anytime it feels like blowing. That's just the way it is.

Then, on top of that, I've done a good bit of work for non-profits in the last decade (I deal with bookkeeping and budgets) and discovered that most of them have HUGE overheads. Some of them are wasting as much as 80% of their donations running their "charities". There are some good ones out there, where a lot of the staff donates their time. But they are very few and far inbetween. Most of them have overhead.

So in the end, what it comes down to is your conscience. Could you sleep well at night if you were given a billion dollars and you chose to spend it all on yourself? Me? Yep. Soundly! Because as you say, life IS short. And it's the only one I've got. I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.

put 800 million away

with the 200 million,

I'd give my mom 20 mil

pay off any bills I may have

buy a house

buy my mom a house

set a scholarship fund for students

set a 5 million dollar trust for my nephew

buy stock in Sony and Microsoft

buy clothes, a laptop, a new PC

Why put away hundreds of millions of dollars? It would do you no good. In fact, it would end up being a hassle that you'd constantly have to monitor and/or pay taxes on (depending on what you did with it). Put aside ten million and buy stuff, some or all of which will end up being worth more than the money itself. Like, with 800 million you could buy a PIECE of Sony or Microsoft, not just some stock.

I use it to fight crime

I'd buy a good studio, some good instruments, hire a tech-head, buy a small house, get a cook and simply make music all day long.

I'd donate some of it and give something to my family and friends.

Cerebus said:

Why put away hundreds of millions of dollars? It would do you no good. In fact, it would end up being a hassle that you'd constantly have to monitor and/or pay taxes on (depending on what you did with it). Put aside ten million and buy stuff, some or all of which will end up being worth more than the money itself. Like, with 800 million you could buy a PIECE of Sony or Microsoft, not just some stock.

I would definitely put 200 or 300 million away. Invest it conservately (5% interest - 10 to 15 million annually).

[Edited 9/7/10 3:15am]

Set up some trust funds.

Pay off any debts.

Give to some inner city children's charities and school breakfast/lunches programs.

Set up scholarships for inner city children.

Give half to hubby to do what he wants with it.

Travel.

Quit my job and never work again, ever.

Cerebus said:

NONSENSE said:

I love your attitude... Life is short why be a penny pincher if you had that much money. I wouldn't spend it all tho... I'd save 3 or 4 hundred million

Thank you all your thoughts. I love hearing what people would do if they had more money than they could ever spend.

I used to be REALLY hardcore on the charity and enviromental front. I've actually lost friends and angered family members over my views in the past (not to mention had some GREAT online fights).

Five years ago I would have considered giving some of the billion to charity. Probably the SF Aids Foundation (who I've actually donated to a lot). Ten years ago I would have had a list of charities ready to give a large percentage of that money to. Fifteen years ago I probably would have answered that I'd only keep ten million for myself (because that's more than I would ever "need") and I'd give the rest away.

However, the older I've gotten - the more I read, observe and learn - the more I've come to the realization that unless every single person on the planet changes their ways, like, yesterday!, it's not going to make a difference. We're very far PAST too late. Since any sane and logical person will realize that the world is full of people who are NEVER going to change their ways in the slightest, I've lost a lot of hope in this regard. It's a pretty good bet that two to three generations from now the planet is going to be vastly different. Four or five and the lifestyle we know will more than likely have collapsed, or be in the process of doing so. There is a very real chance that humanity won't survive at all. Yellowstone could see to that anytime it feels like blowing. That's just the way it is.

Then, on top of that, I've done a good bit of work for non-profits in the last decade (I deal with bookkeeping and budgets) and discovered that most of them have HUGE overheads. Some of them are wasting as much as 80% of their donations running their "charities". There are some good ones out there, where a lot of the staff donates their time. But they are very few and far inbetween. Most of them have overhead.

So in the end, what it comes down to is your conscience. Could you sleep well at night if you were given a billion dollars and you chose to spend it all on yourself? Me? Yep. Soundly! Because as you say, life IS short. And it's the only one I've got. I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.

When I think of the amount of suffering that could be relieved by putting even just a million dollars into something as simple as feeding hungry children I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I’ve got a billion dollars and will only use it for me me me. If I find all charities corrupt I’d simply start my own, so I know what’s going on. Enjoying life to it's fullest means more to me than taking care of myself.

I don’t have a million dollars now and I still give time and money to help those in need. I couldn’t sleep at night now if I didn’t.

NONSENSE said:

What would you buy if you suddenly received a Billion dollars? What organizations would you support?

$1,000,000,000 in your bank account. More money than you could spend in many lifetimes. What would you do? Would you make drastic changes to your life?

[Edited 9/6/10 13:26pm]

i'd found and administer an animal welfare program and be the person who pays for the veterinarian treatment that people otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

CarrieMpls said:

Ensure friends and family are taken care of.

Donate to a handful of charities I feel strongly about.

Set up a home here. Something modest, all things considered. I'm not big on flash.

And I'd spend the rest of my days traveling and seeing the world in between visits home with family and friends. And once I'm ready to settle in somewhere for a time, I'd probably do a lot of volunteer work.

I used to think I'd want to start my own business, but with that kind of money I don't think making any more would interest me at all. So I'd do all the things I feel like I don't have time or the means to do now and all without worrying about how I'm going to sustain myself.

Ditto.

I would keep it real quiet, not tell a soul. Then I would find a pseudy name and accomodate massive help for very needy ones. Other than that I might go to Lavaux and see if it's as nice as the song.

whores, whores, and whores

Regarding putting money aside to earn interest; you have to pay taxes on the interest and if you have a billion dollars you don't NEED yearly income. Jus' sayin'. You'd be better off buying things that you could sell for a profit at a later date. Or buy as many bonds as is legal. Nah, I mean, seriously, there are ways to invest large sums of money. But if you had a billion dollars everything about the way you would do it changes.

Regarding charity; like I said, if it would make y'all sleep better then that would be the right thing to do. If I did ANYTHING in that regard it would definitely be on my own, as some of you have mentioned. It would not involve giving money away blindly to other's charities. It would also have to be something tangible. Like rebuilding houses in the Ninth Ward, or supplying medical care - doctors, equipment and vaccines - to third world nations.

I would move into an old Victorian house on a hill and create a beautiful garden. I would hire someone to help me and teach me all about plants and flowers. It's something I've always been interested in but don't have enough time to truly devote to it.

I would take time to travel, explore, really get to know myself without all the distractions of regular lower middle class life. And I would include my family and friends in my travels.

I would help my family and friends financially. Not eternally and there's reason for that but I would definitely make their lives easier. What they do with the rest of it is on them.

And I would specifically donate my time and money to the March of Dimes, Especially For You, Catherine McAuley Center and the Waypoint Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And I'm sure many more.

I live a fairly decent life as it is, although some areas of it could be A LOT better. I think having all that money won't improve those areas but it sure would clear up some distractions so I could attempt to change them without any excuses.