That’s a tough one. I lean toward dead and rich.
I don’t have kids but a billion would ensure that every generation of nieces and nephews was taken care of for centuries. Then again, they could turn into total pieces of shit like some trust fund kids do.
Probably dead and rich.
But alive and poor isn’t bad. The minimum wage in some places is $15 now. If you also have a spouse that works, you can lead a middle class life on that in a low cost of living area.
You’re thinking way too hard.
I’ve often heard “Your wife and kids are SO LUCKY you like to cook!” To which my response is usually “I think they would prefer if I really liked to investment bank.”
A New Yorker, my professions have always been in the lower-paid areas, like book publishing or running a hippie grocery. The kids went to private schools, where they saw their friends being handed a few hundred dollar bills peeled off the old man’s roll, and wondered why they weren’t getting the same largess.
Me dead and a billion in the bank would probably suit them fine. And if I eat several hundred fewer meatballs in my life, what does it matter?
When you take into account family history, personal health, and genetics I figure I have 5-7 years in front of me and I always wanted to leave a wealthy widow. So what the heck, sign me up for that billion.
On balance, I think ‘poor and alive’ - but only really because:
-There’s no way my family can be trusted with that much money, without me there to help them spend it, and…
-I can find ways to be happy that aren’t about ‘getting ahead’
I think I’ll just walk away without signing either.
Depends on how good the meatballs are
As long as I have a roof over my head and enough food to ear, I am more than happy to be alive.
My kids will get along just fine without a billion dollars.
It is my gift and my curse. Mostly it’s a gift though - it’s fun to pull things apart and find out if sparks come out if you turn the gears backwards!