I can see the headline now: ‘Lottery winner crashes in first race. Quadriplegia result of injuries’
Other than the obvious (build my dream house, pay off debt, quit job), I’d use some of the money to open a restaurant for my husband. I’d hire someone to take care of the books and run the front of house, and my husband would have his own kitchen to do whatever he wanted.
All kidding and fantasies aside, if I won the lottery and told the Sergeant Major I had 112 mil the first thing he’d do is tell me turn in my gear and he’d push through my retirement paperwork. (Actually he would, I’ve had this conversation with him. He said he’d do the same so he could spend time with his kids)
I’ll have to check because it may actually be a regulation about it.
I’d say from my experience of watching Gordon Ramsay that, unfortunately, your husband will end up slowly making your small fortune an even smaller fortune.
You should play the lottery. The chances of knowing 3 jackpot winners seems almost as remarkable as actually winning it.
Yeah, but he’d love doing it. I could make my small fortune smaller by traveling the world or buying a fishing boat… or I could do it making my husband happy. Either way, the money’s gonna get spent.
To paraphrase the late, great George Best : “I’d spend the bulk of my money on booze, broads, & fast cars. The rest I’d just squander!” 
The problem with trying to remain anymous is, at least here in the US (NY ayway), you generally have to show up in person to claim the money. I guess the lottery wants the public to see it’s real & legit. So you’d better have moved, disconnected your phone, changed all addresses & etc. before claiming the winnings. Ah well, to have such problems! :smack:
Buy a few Victoria Crosses as an investment.
Buy a few racehorses to waste money.
If you keep repeating yourself, keep repeating yourself, maybe they’ll think you’re nuts and steer clear.
Assuming it was > $10,000,000
I wouldn’t tell anyone except my spousal-unit.
I would pay off my mortgage and the credit cards and the car.
I would then let she-who-must-be-obeyed decide how to invest the rest.
I would almost certainly NOT quit my job since I enjoy what I do more than anything else I could imagine doing. I would probably convince the powers-that-be that I could work from home more often.
My offspring are doing very well on their own, and my mother is set for life already, so I think handing them money would be foolish, especially if they don’t know that I won the lottery.
Well, a quick search leads to the predictable answer that anonymity is a factor of which lottery (powerball, mega millions, state) you win and where you win it. The second hit on google was a story from 2006 about an Oklahoma legislator who wanted to prevent people from collecting winnings through a blind trust.
I once did some research for Ohio, and I think I could collect my mega millions or state lottery winnings through a trust and remain anonymous. Not that I have winnings to collect. But if I did, I would:
- Call my lawyer, setup a trust and have him collect the winnings through the trust .
- Work with my investment manager, my local investment manager that is, and setup the money in very low risk investments while I sorted out what to do with the rest.
- Tell nobody and take no action until I had the money in hand and taxes paid.
- Pay of bills.
- Setup trusts for my parents, my mother in law, and my nephews (their parents would not want the money and I respect that, but their kids will not have to worry about paying for college.) The amount in the trusts would be generous, but not lavish.
- Buy a slightly nicer house, get a new minivan for my wife, and a new car for me.
- I doubt I would retire. I like what I do and I am under 40. I would take profits from my investments and spend part on worthwhile causes.
Lessee… 30 million lump sum payment…
Very first thing… Trust fund set up with 2 million. Funds available on request, but payout is limited to $50k a year. A guarantee that I won’t become destitute later on in life do to whatever poor decisions I probably won’t make, but just in case.
5 million just plain invested that I maintain control of.
2 million to both of my brothers. 500k to each of my parents to beef up their retirement accounts.
Purchase a modest house in Iowa close to the family, and another in a nice warm place. I don’t need, or indeed want, a mansion.
With the remaining 20 or so million… I would start a video game company, and make 3 games. More if they are successful.
This, but retire would be #1, trust #2, debt (99% which is mortgage) #3, renovations #4. I’d renovate with an eye towards selling in ~5 years, then get out of one of America’s most expensive cities, and find someplace warmer and cheaper.
By my calculations, I need to clear (after taxes) ~$3 million to retire. Insurance, especially for my wife, would be my biggest worry and expense.
Let’s assume it’s a big payday, $20 million. Lottery winnings here are tax free and paid in full the day you present the ticket, so it’s logistically simple to get the money.
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Take $8 million and invest it. I’d invest it through four chartered banks - TDCT, CIBC, Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank - in index funds, an array of mutual funds, some government paper, and bank stocks. Safe, safe, safe.
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Pay off all debts. That’s about $325K, counting the house.
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Buy a bigger house. So I get some money back, as the house would sell well. I’d spend about a million bucks on the new place and realize at least an extra $300K on selling the old. I have $9.3 million left.
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Quit my job.
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Take $5 million and distribute it to key family and friends in useful ways - paying off mortgages, education funds, etc. $4.3 million left.
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Set aside $2 million for living for the next 5-10 years. $2.3 million left.
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Two good cars. $2.1 million left, being very generous with my car choices.
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Invest $1 million in the business my wife wants to start (which is far more than we’d need to start it, but that way the business would have lots of safe cash.)
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Put $1.1 in the checking account and take the kid to Disney World again. Oh, and get a big TV and a new computer.
With a $30 million lump sum payout, I’d:
Stash $5 million overseas. This would be my “bug-out” money. Let the government see me do it, all nice and legal, then once it’s in a Swiss bank, shift it a half-dozen times until only me and a banker in Luxembourg know where it is or how to get at it.
Buy a good sized farm in Washington State, up near Sedro Wooley. Build a nice sprawling compound for the cats.
Buy a condo in San Diego overlooking Petco Park.
Invest $10 million or so for maximum safety. We have no heirs, so there is zero incentive to leave anything when we go. Spend it all over the next 40 years.
$30M take-home, eh?
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Pay off all debt (about $250k)
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Quit my job
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Move to a gated community back in Michigan AND buy a lake house on Lake Michigan
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Buy a few cool cars (I NEED a Porsche 911, a new Ford Taurus SHO, and a BMW M5)
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Spend time with my wife and daughter
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Travel as much as possible
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Go back to school just to learn about cool stuff (this is the biggest thing for me)
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Invest, mainly in CD’s and other “safe” things.
This article may be of interest to the newly monied.
Oh sure, but think of the money you’d have to spend on defense.
I’d spend it on POWER. (Or, to put it more nicely, philanthropy). Depending on the size of the payout, I’d try to do things like financing a DC Statehood campaign that is truly national in scope - big enough that candidates for national office must address it in their campaigns. I’d also chuck a bunch of money towards folks developing anti-censorship software in repressive regimes - I might also set up my own development shop towards that end, though I’d need to find a good lead developer, as I have no programming skills of my own.
Sure, I’d make sure I had a nice apartment, and that my family was looked after - but the real point of a massive fortune, to my mind, is that it gives you the ability to reshape bits of the world as you see fit. Shame to waste that kind of power on beach houses and blow.
All my island needs is a skull volcano and my supervillian lair is in the bag!
I would start calling in sick until the money was verified in my account. As soon as I knew that the money was in my account, I’d drive to work to pick up some things and say I’m never ever ever coming back ever and quitting on the spot. I thought about telling people what I really think of them at that shithole place but I think disappearing with no reason is more drama than going out with security escorting me out.
Next, calling all creditors and paying off everything in full. I would give my BFF $100,000 so she can pay off debt/see the world because I said I would if I won a ginormous lottery. My parents are not hurting for money, but I think I would buy something really nice for my mom because of all the money she’s given/lent me over the years.
I would put all my bills on autopay and still never get a credit card. I like paying cash for everything and would still do it.
I’d buy me a new car, most likely another minivan. What, I like them, alright? I bet I would buy some property in Bend and start a hop farm. Seriously. When I look back on my life, the jobs I was happiest doing was working with my hands, but there’s not a lot of money in it. Since money is no object I would do it and be happy.
OK after the spending spree, I’d get an accountant and investment person to help make my fortune into bigger fortunes. I know nothing of such things so I’d need professional help. I’d have to get an attorney because the kids’ mom would try to wheedle her way into getting a cut of the money somehow, I’m sure.
I honestly wonder how many people win the lottery that had middling aspirations but ended up going nuts with the money and trying to live a lavish lifestyle.