• You're viewing the Team9000 Archives. These old threads are closed to new comments, but if something interests you or you have a question, feel free to open a new thread in the main forums.

How would you handle it?

Godliberator

Godliberator

Well-Known Member
An evening ago, Squeebz posed to me a question that I am sure all of us have been asked at least a dozen times in our lives. She asked me the “what would you do if you were rich” question. This time though, she was a little more specific. She asked me, “What would you do, if you won a large sum of money and after you gave the government their share of it through taxes, you ended up with just over six hundred million dollars, and how would you handle it?”

I answered with a simple “anything I want” answer, but that didn’t fly with her. She wanted a full detailed explanation to this question, and a simple pass off answer would not work. I then began to think about it and even though it is a very simple question, the answer is not at all simple.

Firstly, assuming I live past the initial shock of going from a hard earned middle class status, to being categorized as super-rich; I would take care of the obvious debts from things like my student loan, and car, and any other large purchases I am making payments on, I felt this would be my logical first action after I came down from the shock and excitement. However, I would want to tell my immediate family and friends, but this only brings up even more questions. How could you tell them? Could telling your parents cause them to have heart failure from the shock? How will your friends react to the news? The list can go on, but I eventually decided to not actually tell anybody I am close to, how much I actually have. I feel that this would be the best option for all close family and friends. I would break the news to them in a way that would allow them to be aware of the situation change, and not give away any major details. The saying goes, “more money, more problems” and just breaking the news to others can cause a lot of problems. This leads me to my next thought.

Now that I am out of debt and have told my friends about my good fortune, I would want to give to my friends and family, but I would have no idea how generous I could actually be, without being off-putting. I feel though that giving to those that you love, at any given time, and making those that you love just that much happier for even the shortest amount of time, is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Saying this, I do not think I could help myself, but to offer to at the very least, bring my friends out of any debt and give them that extra income to do what they want to do. I realize however, that this could have the result of ruining a friendship entirely, something I would never want to do, but you plan for the worst, and hope for the best in all situations. This initial excitement stage, as I am now referring to it, would be amazingly exciting and stressful for not just me and my wife, but everyone around me.

That first part, just adding things up quickly, would more than likely, not even break one million dollars and I would still have five hundred and ninety nine million even if it did.

There is nothing in this world that that much money, cannot buy. Knowing this, I cannot give a timeline for the rest of this. I know that at some point, I would be purchasing at least one house. I would be breaking the lease on my apartment. I would hire a moving company to move me into the new house. I would be quitting my job. I would be hiring a few lawyers, and a few accountants. I would be cutting a very large check to the St. Judes children’s research hospital. I then move on towards investing the money and ensuring that it never runs out, which means I will be hiring financial advisors and consultants.

From this point, I have no idea what I would do, because there is nothing that I could not do. In time, my close friends would eventually find out how much I have, and I will probably end up losing some friends in the whole process, perhaps some family as well. I can talk all day about the possibilities, but to be completely honest, I would never know until it actually happened, but the main reason I would not know, is only because I could do anything I want. Would there be problems? Yes, that is only guaranteed, but overall I don’t think any of us would pass on the opportunity to strap into that rocket and ride it to wherever it goes.

As always, and once again,

This has been a moment from Godliberator
 
I would put my father and grandmother immediately out of all debts, taxes, leins, leases, etc.

I would then set my father up for education (he never finished high school).

I would then give my grandmother a cool 5 million after buying her a home of her choice in a location of her choice.

I would then set money to the side that would completely pay for my childrens ENTIRE education. Like perhaps about 2 million each.

I would donate several amounts to various charitable organizations, some in particular include Child's Play, since I love video games.

I would proceed to pay for my wife's education.

I would then buy our dream house.

I would have a mini house built on the property (some distance away) for my mother-in-law (UGH!).

After that is all said and done, my first purchase would be a 2012 Shelby GT500 Super Snake (and some manual driving lessons).

I would then assemble a computer so awesome that every geek in the world would shed a tear of happiness.

Afterwards, after I have shopped so hard my ass literally would fall off, I would make a huge payment to Team9000 so that every willing member 18+ who wanted to come to PAX East could do so, no matter where in the world they were. Then I would rent out the all the biggest rooms in the hotel next to it and we would have a Team9000 megaparty and invite all of PAX! I would also pay for everyone to have at least 5 tshirts.

LASTLY (I promise) I would go on a vacation like what Woot is currently doing, but I would do it in other countries as well. I would rent cars along the way in larger countries like Europe so that I could jump from car to plane to train, etc.

Then come back and just be the biggest spoiled geek ever and still have HUNDREDS of millions of dollars left. Instead of being a lazy prick, I would franchise my mobile computer repair business.
 
Now to address your blog directly. You don't tell people how much you have, you don't go on TV telling everyone. People will be aware of the situation change, but you don't need to tell them how much. Go enjoy your life with them. You want to go do something, drag a friend along. Example: you're bored and want to go get a boating liscense, and your friend can't afford it. Pay his way, and take him with you to all of the lessons. Spoil them, but in a good way, not a way that makes them dependent on you. They still need to work, etc. Just be that friend that has crazy times and not the friend who hands out cash to whoever needs it.
 
Well, I'd buy things I've wanted all my life. Fairly vain things like the new computer I've been saving u-
Know what, I'll write a blog in response to this. I've always comtemplated what I'd do with a large sum of cash. I'll just leave you with this quote from Fable II, not sure if it's paraphrasing from something else.

“Give a beggar a million gold, he'll buy food… until he's full. Then, he'll realize bread isn't the only thing for sale.”"
 
Fortunately Kansas does not require one actually provide their name upon claiming winning the prize. That would save a lot of headache for me, though, from watching several of the show's they've had on TLC following some of the big winners, it would be of little consequence.

After the typical paying off all debts, etc., I think I'd spend my first year just travelling, both the US and Internationally - always wanted to go to Northern Ireland, Wales, and Japan. Would be so much better being able to spend an entire month there versus a cramped week trying to get everything in.

After that, I'd probably start my own local computer shop. With that much money I know I'd never have to work again, but beyond Minecraft, I don't think I could spend enough time in hobbies to hold my interest for sustained periods of time. Then again, I'd probably also enroll for some classes like photography and cooking at the local Community College.

Not really sure how I'd approach my parents/family with it. I'd probably call up my parents and ask them when we're going on the Alaskan Cruise :D
 
Anyone ever read the book / watched the movie "A Simple Plan"?
Ties in with dis.
 
I think I would probably do an assload of traveling, trying food and experiencing culture in different countries etc...
 
My wife and I were just talking about this. If you were to happen upon a sum as little as $8million, you could earn about $1700/month in interest alone without investing any of the money or putting it into a high-yield savings account.
Your first step should be to find a place to put your money (what type of account(s) and what-not), then you should look at what you can pay off with your new found fortunes. People who win large sums of money and never had a lot of money before tend to spend it all and wind up broke like they were before.
 
@Moondoggy - I agree with you wholeheartedly.

If I won any sort of gigantic windfall sum, I'd put it in the bank and live off the interest. I know that there's a bank account I could create that gives you a whopping 10% interest rate, provided you deposit over $2500 a fortnight or something. If I had a cool million right there, the interest that would accumulate would be sexy.

Why spend it when you can make the interest do things for you?
 
Yes, high yield bank account, some stocks, retirement funds in case you went off and broke, and then a few million locked away for when I fuck everything all up.

I feel like there is only so much you can do with that much money. Like eventually you run out of shit to buy.

As far as food and shit, I don't like fancy shit like sushi and little tiny plates, so you'll find me still going to buffets and crap.

I would still buy a modest house instead of a mansion simply because I don't want to clean all that.

Most of my money would get spend on gadgets, and Steam. BUY ALL THE STEAM GAMES! Also buying other people stuff, because when I have money, I seem to never able to say no.
 
lol... might sound weird, but the first thing i'd do after paying any debts, is buy my dream car.. then the house.. :D
 
Actually, no. My dream is a really expensive but overwhelmingly fast mode of transport. And it's not teleportation. Imagine being able to get anywhere in the world in under an hour.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top