What would you do if you had $1 billion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1 Billion is not that much these days. It's like asking what 1 million would get you in 2000.

Exactly. I would turn it down because they need to make a real offer.

[Anonymous]

A couple of years ago my husband got really carried away with deciding what he was going to do after he won the Powerball or the megamillions or whatever it is, and we found this website:

https://www.privateislandsonline.com/

We picked out a few. One was a house on a private island off of Florida. It was like 11 million dollars. I'm a very private person and would have no problem with having no neighbors and living a very quiet life.

Also we have one standard poodle but I would love to have a whole herd of them, like four or five.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 20M and live like lower-middle class people because we can't be bothered changing our lifestyle from what it was before.

We are building generational wealth, and with a billion, we would need a trusted wealth advisor instead of doing it all ourselves as we've done so far. There are large banks with entire departments centered on teaching wealth management to the scions of the ultra-wealthy. We would contact them, because our kids are teens and young adults, and they would need a lot of education.

We would emphasize discretion, because with wealth comes danger. In my first world EU home country, cryptobillionaires and their families have been kidnapped and tortured for ransom. I would be very careful about privacy and security.

We don't want houses, or rail cars (?), or planes. We would just take more and more luxurious vacations. We would probably hire the services of travel agents that cater to our wealth range, for the discretion mentioned above. None of the travel expenses would be in our names directly.

We would probably help out multiple relatives, and have give more money to our favorite charities. We know not to create our own. Usually it's more efficient to fund an already existing and capable one.

And health wise, we would maybe go to medical professionals that cater to wealthy people, and have higher standards of examinations. I wouldn't mind getting myself regular full body MRIs, just to check for latent issues. I'd get a fitness trainer and dietician to keep me on the straight and narrow.

It doesn't sound like much, OP, but we don't have a lot of wants.

What on earth are you talking about. The question is what would you do if you had crazy money, not how much you have now. Stop being so self-absorbed.

[Anonymous]

My dream is to buy up land and convert to green spaces, particularly in random, unexpected places for everyone to enjoy.

[Anonymous]

I’d take some portion of it and buy a nicer house, set up trusts for my kids and my nieces/nephews, travel a bunch, and support small, local charities.

I’d take the rest and set up a program to fund local and tribal governments to implement climate change mitigation projects to do some small part of filling the hole in funding created by this administration. Maybe as a revolving loan fund or green bank so that it lasts longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dream is to buy up land and convert to green spaces, particularly in random, unexpected places for everyone to enjoy.

I remember reading this story, maybe in the new yorker, awhile back about this couple who had this idea to create a gigantic bison reserve... there's all this under-utilized land out west -- shitloads of old farms that are abandoned and they wanted to raise money to link big swathes of it together to allow huge bison herds to migrate again... people freaked out and thought it was some kind of commie land grab or something, and the people were like, yeah, it's more of a thought experiment than a real thing, or something... I wish I could remember the details...

But I'd do something like that... start buying big swathes of land, and allowing them to become prairie again.

Maybe, if I was feeling obnoxious, swoop in and buy lots of land in coastal areas hit by hurricanes that owners were trying to sell out of, and do marsh or mangrove restoration... Piss off the people who stayed that I'm not keeping the sandy beaches (but am keeping their stupid barrier island stable!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago my husband got really carried away with deciding what he was going to do after he won the Powerball or the megamillions or whatever it is, and we found this website:

https://www.privateislandsonline.com/

We picked out a few. One was a house on a private island off of Florida. It was like 11 million dollars. I'm a very private person and would have no problem with having no neighbors and living a very quiet life.

Also we have one standard poodle but I would love to have a whole herd of them, like four or five.

I like the idea of a herd of poodles, but you can't live on an island alone with them. That's a ticket to crazy town.

I'd buy an adventure yacht that allows all-weather cruising and just stay at sea. No tariffs.

[Anonymous]

Invest it, set up a family office and foundation. We’d keep working, trust funds for kids and grandkids, repair anything needed, get a better tax advisor.

[Anonymous]

I would shore up the finances of a few non-profits and people I like.

I would get a private PT and go daily, along with a masseuse. I would hire a private chef for myself and my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 20M and live like lower-middle class people because we can't be bothered changing our lifestyle from what it was before.

We are building generational wealth, and with a billion, we would need a trusted wealth advisor instead of doing it all ourselves as we've done so far. There are large banks with entire departments centered on teaching wealth management to the scions of the ultra-wealthy. We would contact them, because our kids are teens and young adults, and they would need a lot of education.

We would emphasize discretion, because with wealth comes danger. In my first world EU home country, cryptobillionaires and their families have been kidnapped and tortured for ransom. I would be very careful about privacy and security.

We don't want houses, or rail cars (?), or planes. We would just take more and more luxurious vacations. We would probably hire the services of travel agents that cater to our wealth range, for the discretion mentioned above. None of the travel expenses would be in our names directly.

We would probably help out multiple relatives, and have give more money to our favorite charities. We know not to create our own. Usually it's more efficient to fund an already existing and capable one.

And health wise, we would maybe go to medical professionals that cater to wealthy people, and have higher standards of examinations. I wouldn't mind getting myself regular full body MRIs, just to check for latent issues. I'd get a fitness trainer and dietician to keep me on the straight and narrow.

It doesn't sound like much, OP, but we don't have a lot of wants.

What on earth are you talking about. The question is what would you do if you had crazy money, not how much you have now. Stop being so self-absorbed.

I AM talking about what I would do with a billion, which is not crazy money at all. You should read more carefully.

[Anonymous]

I’d run anti-corruption ads and PSAs on how government works and what it does for us.

I’d buy small newspapers and radio stations in rural areas and do the same. I’d only have professional journalists and no lies would be tolerated.

I’d buy a an old, remodeled house with lots of character and have it professionally decorated.

I’d give my two best friends a lot of money and take us on a trip together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago my husband got really carried away with deciding what he was going to do after he won the Powerball or the megamillions or whatever it is, and we found this website:

https://www.privateislandsonline.com/

We picked out a few. One was a house on a private island off of Florida. It was like 11 million dollars. I'm a very private person and would have no problem with having no neighbors and living a very quiet life.

Also we have one standard poodle but I would love to have a whole herd of them, like four or five.

But having to deal with your own island would be a huge pita - getting electricity, potable water and food there would be a nightmare. Also, intruders.

[Anonymous]

There are many countries in the South Pacific and the Caribbean with GDPs below $1 billion.

I would make an offer.

And promise to fix the potholes and rule with kindness and wisdom while appropriating the St. Regis as the new Presidential Palace. I would then alternate my recognition of China and Taiwan for some side hustle money. Could probably get a nice plane out of it. I am so ready to be a petty despot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Invest it, set up a family office and foundation. We’d keep working, trust funds for kids and grandkids, repair anything needed, get a better tax advisor.

'
It's like you didn't read my OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago my husband got really carried away with deciding what he was going to do after he won the Powerball or the megamillions or whatever it is, and we found this website:

https://www.privateislandsonline.com/

We picked out a few. One was a house on a private island off of Florida. It was like 11 million dollars. I'm a very private person and would have no problem with having no neighbors and living a very quiet life.

Also we have one standard poodle but I would love to have a whole herd of them, like four or five.

But having to deal with your own island would be a huge pita - getting electricity, potable water and food there would be a nightmare. Also, intruders.

Good thing they have money to pay people to solve those problems.