I’d go for a nice-sized chunk of land with several beautiful houses built on it, set up for a giant garden, and I’d offer friends space in the houses. Not paying mortgage sounds great, as does having a house that’s not falling apart, as does living close enough to friends that visiting them is no big thang.
One of the massive, hand crafted places I see on the show Epic Homes. Something in the West, maybe Wyoming or Idaho. Lots of timber and stone.
An island off the coast of Belize although I’d have to shop. There’d be a rental guest house and some primitive camping area but it wouldn’t be for revenue. It would be set up to channel the funds towards property tax and maintaining the guest areas with any extra funds committed to non-profits that work to maintain the areas natural resources.
If he really wanted to get picky about charging, even as a non-profit, I could cover property taxes in Belize for some of the smaller islands.
Oceanfront house in Avon NC, Outer Banks. About $500,000. And, I could afford the taxes. There are more expensive ones., but I’m not greedy.
My social security would keep me in bait for the rest of my life.
The place I’m currently renting. And a car.
CBS.
A ski house, somewhere in the French Alps.
Easy one for me - I want the Colt .45 Elvis gave President Nixon. That or Patton’s S&W revolver.
(Patton’s Colt was just too much for my taste)
Is the item going to be for personal status or enjoyment only, or can we have a practical object that we can use? For example, if I want a nuclear submarine, will I actually be able to sail around in it or will it just be for personal enjoyment at home and to show off to guests who get to gaze at the neat thing I have in my backyard pool?
I would like a fully restored 1989 Toyota 4Runner. Red. V6. 4WD. Moon roof. Thank you!
I believe I’d go for this painting. (And I think it would take a non-trivial percentage of a billion dollars to get it.)
I would like this house, please.
I’d take this, and then, promptly blow it up.
Same here, about 36ft is enough, set up for singlehand, but all the extras might try the billionaire’s patience. I’d want it completely outfitted and blue water ready with solar panels, windvane, positive flotation, watertight hatch, radios, chart plotter, life raft, EPIRBs, sat phone, foul weather gear, GPS, 3G radar, watermaker…
Hmm, on second thought, maybe I should just get an 80ft Wally.
There’s a piece of land in Savannah, Georgia* that I want - not for any commercial purposes, but because I love the trees. In fact, it would be specifically for non-commercial purposes, because I live in dread of the day that someone buys it to build a convenience store or luxury condos. I wouldn’t even build a house on it, because some of those trees would be lost. It’s just the most beautiful piece of land I’ve ever seen, even though it’s surrounded by chemical plants and subsidized housing and railroad tracks and such. I’ve even told my husband that it’s the One Stupid Pointless thing I’d buy for myself if we ever won the lottery.
Thanks, Eccentric Billionaire!
*If you’re familiar with Savannah, it’s just east of the Historic District, off President Street Extension, just where you turn to go to Old Fort Jackson. I’ve loved that piece of land for decades.
While I wouldn’t mind owning this, it seems wrong to take it out of the museum so that only I could see it. Instead, I’ll take my “Crazy Billionaire Dream House” with taxes and cleaning services included, located near my friends. My CBDH includes the following and more: solar panels and geothermal power/heating so it can be self-sufficient; an indoor, heated swimming pool; a library with nice leather chairs (I’ll fill it with books); a “theater room” with a 128" TV, surround sound, and ample seating; a six-story tower from which I can view the surrounding land; an armory room (inside the tower) that I can fill with armor and weapons from various time periods; a “black room,” a bedroom where the furniture and room itself are all black with white trim; a “white room,” white with black trim; a brewing room where I can make beer; and the crowning glory, a house-wide sound system. High quality speakers in every room, a control panel in every room connected to the central “music computer” so I could have the same music playing in every room (or in whatever rooms I want).
It’s nice, but there’s a big empty space there the shifting stick should be.
A house on the southwest side of Angel Island (CA Bay Area), with a decent amount of property and indefinite tax-free lease.
Whatever he has to pay the Louvre, this sculpture by Antonio Canova is what I would choose.
I like this. Apart from a few details, you describe much of what I want in my own dream home. And having my own perfect house, paid off and self-sufficient, would solve so many of my immediate problems that, unoriginal a choice as it appears to be, it too would be what I’d request.