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Thread: If you were a billionaire

  1. #41
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Charity is the only reason I can think of for wanting a fortune of that size, but distributing the monies involved among all the need in the world would be a huge responsibility. Buying corrupt politicians isn't my cup of tea.

  2. #42
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    I can think of a lot of reasons for wanting a fortune that size, ranging from generosity to virtue signaling to power to freedom to security to whims both savory and unsavory. Maybe even the pure spiteful pleasure of irritating the people who resent the existence of fortunes and their owners.

    I suspect it’s a lot easier to put imaginary money where one’s mouth is than the genuine article.

  3. #43
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Reportedly, many past winners of lotteries have been unhappy and broke in a short time. Not sure if that is still true as more experience and knowledge about how to protect oneself has become more readily available. That is not the point of this thread but I suspect handling large sums of money require expertise beyond the average person's knowledge. I am including this post to ask if any of us can realistically answer the original question the OP posed?
    Fun considering this possibility though.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  4. #44
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    If all the money I've spent (and mostly continue to spend) foolishly were miraculously restored to me, I'd buy a small house or condo outright and move in at my leisure, while rehabbing this place to sell.

  5. #45
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    This is an interesting thread, although the last entry is 3 months ago! Well in reality if I were to receive a billion ($1,000,000,000) dollars, I would call up the most reputable trust company I could find for help! If one makes 2% per year interest on the money, that's $20,000,000 per year income! IRS tends to become very chummy at that point, not to mention your state and local governments. You might be surprised at how busy they can keep you. Then, there are all of those people who want to make money with your money. It wouldn't be simple living anymore! Bicyclist (I'll stick to bicycling)

  6. #46
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    IRS audits of rich taxpayers is ridiculously small, and has become smaller the last few years (something like from 6% to 3%). Just in case you come into money...

  7. #47
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    While reality may differ, I don't feel right now that it would be a burden, but would actually be fun and joyous to spend and share. My hope would be that I eventually use it all up in positive ways (MY definitely of positive!), helping both myself and others. As it would be an unexpected "windfall", I don't feel the need to use it to make "more", but instead use it, again, in ways I believe to be positive and helpful to myself and others.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  8. #48
    Senior Member pcooley's Avatar
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    I admit that I buy a lottery ticket on rare occasions. Doing so always leads to just this sort of thought exercise, and I usually come around to more of a sense of dread at winning than I do a sense of hope (greed, fantasy, whatever it is).

    I always have a list of things I would like to do with money, if I were given a chunk and ordered to spend, rather than save or invest it. Those amounts, however, are always in the three to three-hundred thousand dollar range. A passive solar rebuild of our house, ground source heat pump - actually, that's about all I have on my personal fantasy list right now. I also often think of opening a shop that sells and services things I love, but which I don't think I can make a profit selling and servicing - 3-speed bicycles, typewriters, rotary phones, mechanical alarm clocks, etc. All things I use, but which I can't find a good shop for in town. I'd also love to manufacture those things. I have a baby ben series 6 alarm clock I love. It ticks quietly. It looks nice. Why can't I go to the store and buy one? Why do I have to get them on Ebay? Whenever I think about starting my own business, those are the types of things I want to manufacture-sell-service. To me, it represents a huge gap in the market, but then I think people just don't want to buy those things anymore. But if I had a billion dollars, I could go into business making and selling things I love without worrying too much about whether there was widespread demand for them.

    My biggest concern, when I go through that particular thought experiment, is privacy. I love my house. I love where we're located. With the lottery, particularly, where your name gets published, I wonder if people would be stopping by and knocking on the door with various requests and calling us on the phone - eventually, my imagination runs to kidnappings and ransoms! Would we have to change the way we live and the way we feel about the people around us?

    No thank you. It's good that I'm not ever likely to win even five dollars in the lottery.

  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by pcooley View Post
    My biggest concern, when I go through that particular thought experiment, is privacy. I love my house. I love where we're located. With the lottery, particularly, where your name gets published, I wonder if people would be stopping by and knocking on the door with various requests and calling us on the phone - eventually, my imagination runs to kidnappings and ransoms! Would we have to change the way we live and the way we feel about the people around us?
    More and more states are slowly coming around to privacy/safety issues often associated with winning the lottery and are allowing anonymity for winners.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  10. #50
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I got an interesting insight from my boss about buying lottery tickets. When she was asked if she bought lottery tickets, she said she didn't because she "works too hard." I think her point was her work has the real value, and winning the lottery would cheapen it. I've always kept that in the back of my mind (even as I'm scratching off letters in the crossword ticket DH buys for me now and then

    I have always thought I would rue the day I won a big lottery.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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