Hypothetical: Spending $10 million dollars in 48 hours

In My Humble Opinion
1

I saw this prompt on a writing website, and want to see what Dopers come up with.

You will receive $10 million at midnight tonight. You have exactly 48 hours to spend the money; unspent funds will be forfeit after 48 hours.

Catch: You can’t buy physical things. No houses, no luxury cars, no lifetime supply of mac and cheese. You can, however, buy services, rent things, go to the movies, book flights, etc. You can invest it of course, but that’s not spending and you’ll lose the $10 million principle at the end of the two days. (You would get to keep the interest though.)

What will you do?

2

I would use it as collateral to borrow 10 million dollars minus two days of interest :slight_smile:

3

Tickets to the Final Four and Super Bowl for life. Donate $1m to charity. Just need to make sure Stephen Collins doesn’t screw me!

4

Get and prepay 99 year leases on some capital property - such as homes, cars, etc., then go into business, subletting homes, running a taxi service, etc. Once the 48 hours are up, the lease is still active, and it’s all prepaid so you don’t have to worry.

Or, find a lottery where you can buy out all the tickets. Obviously, the expected value of a lottery ticket is less than 1 per dollar, so you will probably end up with less than 10 million, but at least you get to keep it. Or, play roulette with it and walk away with your 3 million, after playing many rounds.

5

Las Vegas vacation for a bunch of friends?
Travel, lodging, food and gambling costs all paid for. Any winnings, you get to keep.
I’d suggest some place more exotic, but with only 48hours, I don’t want to spend all that time doing the actual traveling.

6

I also vote for the gambling and lottery. no matter how shitty the odds, since the money is only in your possession for 48 hours it seems like the best route to turning it into money that will stick around.

I’m sure that somewhere there’s some kind of calculation of the average winnings in $10 million worth of lottery tickets.

Hell, I’m a decent poker player whose biggest problem is fear of losing, which makes me timid and stupid. Maybe I’d take it play some hardcore high stakes poker.

7

Very high-stakes blackjack. For that size a bankroll, you can get any casino to run you a private single-deck game. Every hand you win, pocket the winnings. Optimal play would result in you keeping well over $9 million of the cash as profit.

8

I’d arrange a special screening of “Brewster’s Millions” for a few hundred thousand of my closest friends.

9

I’d rent Cbarlie Sheen and ride him like a pony.

10

The loophole is definitely keeping the winnings. Blackjack and a high roller suite for me! The best part is, playing the odds you’ll win $9 million and get another million in players club bonuses.

11

Private jet rental to Musha Cay private island, along with a ton of needy kids, some amazing volunteers who never get a break, a few great massage therapists, a few of my favorite bands and an investment banker who’ll try to make me some quick money.

12

Tickets for two-Around the world cruise on The Queen Mary II(108 days), Queens Grill Suite…approx. $24,000
Clothing rental for the trip…$6,000
25 year lease in a nice little penthouse downtown…$7,550,000
Lifetime memberships in 5 different Beer-Of-The-Month clubs…$20,000
Various Charities…$2,000,000
Tickets for 2 to watch Magiver ride Charlie Sheen like a pony…$400,000

13

I would hire my mother to manage my money. The money she would manage would be a single dollar from my pocket. Her fee would be $10 million.

After 48 hours are up, she may decide that her new-found wealth allows to her buy wonderful gifts for her favorite son.

Alternate answer: When the 48 hours are up, the people trying to reclaim my remaining $9 million will discover just how many mercenaries and guns $1 million can buy.

14

Very, very clever.

Like Brewster hiring the lawyer chick, only first instead of last. Bravo.

15

+1

16

I was going to mention that movie too.

17

Assuming I were not clever enough to come up with or steal the ideas posted by other Dopers here, I’d probably buy several years’ worth of a suite and four field level season seats at Dodger Stadium. Let’s say that’ll cost $2,000,000. (I’m figuring $100,000 each year for 20 years.)

Then, I’d call up Brunswick and see how much money it would take for them to offer me a lifetime of free bowling at any of their establishments. I’m hoping $100,000 would be enough to satisfy them.

Then, I’d book a cruise per year for the next 20 years. Including at least one that would be an around-the-world cruise.

I’d arrange to pay the SDMB member fees for a few dozen of my favorite posters, of course (We speak “bribe” here!).

I’d try to buy lifetime memberships (or, if not an option, years of membership) to my favorite entertainment spots (amusements parks and the like).

I’m not sure, based on the OP, whether gift cards are off limits, here. I’m assuming that the spirit of the thread means that isn’t valid, but just in case, I’d throw in several hundred thousand dollars in Amazon and Best Buy certificates, and probably some place that sells casual and business clothing, just so I wouldn’t have to worry about such things in the future.

Oh, and I’d prepay my satellite and internet bills for a few years.