# What should I do with a billion dollars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304 "2018-10-21T21:13:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304/101 "2018-10-25T16:55:53Z")
Ever since God invented women there has been an answer to the question: what can I spend my money on? ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304/102 "2018-10-25T17:05:32Z")
I would agree with Machine Elf. It’s so much money that you can’t spend it all, but there will be plenty of people offering to help you do just that. By and large, it would be really difficult to conceal your wealth unless you lived much as before - in which case why bother with the lottery anyway? A win that big makes you a target for kidnappers and the like, so all that money buys you bodyguards that hang around all the time and give you no peace. And then write snarky memoirs about you, later. Yes, a big win would really impact your social life, and most likely not for the better. In short, the only way you could spend that much money (seriously) is to either go in for large-scale philanthropy or else buy up some businesses. Anyway, if any Dopers do win, then send me just a tiny fraction of your new-found pelf. I’d be set up for life with just a few million. The quid pro quo? My undying gratitude, a warm inner glow from the satisfaction of having helped somebody, and my complete and utter silence as to your new status. I’d say it’s a fair deal. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304/103 "2018-10-25T19:24:43Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > You know what they say: money buys a better quality of misery. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure rent it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304/104 "2018-10-25T20:27:14Z")
I realize that the OP didn’t want to do good, but for folks not opposed to that, [here is a plan to live comfortably off the prize](https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/10/mega-millions-lottery-winner-guide-advice.html) (for you and family), and have a shield against the friends/relatives begging cash. And I’m guessing you wouldn’t have to do much good - it sounds like your foundation can fund pretty much anything legal, so breeding cats intelligent cats with thumbs is probably doable. ETA: I might just set up the Howard Foundation and see how long before Woodrow shows up. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304/105 "2018-10-25T21:27:43Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It’s one thing to make sure your money is well-managed so it doesn’t run out. But there’s more. > > Can you handle all the relatives who will be coming out of the woodwork looking for a piece of your wealth? Sure! “No.” > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Can you put adequate security measures in place to assure that criminals don’t threaten your safety (less of a problem in states that allow you to anonymously claim your prize)? Can you live with the kinds of restrictions required by that security? I like locked doors. I like locked doors a _lot_. If I was in a financial and residential circumstance that allowed it, I’d have steel-core doors now, and no windows at all. And since I don’t plan to get all ostentatious about my new financial independence, I don’t anticipate much trouble on that front. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Can you live a fulfilling life now that you don’t have to work 9-5 to earn a living? If you retire from your job, your connections with your old coworkers will quickly fade. If you dramatically change your lifestyle such that you have less in common with them and your other friends, the connections will fade that much more quickly. Are you the kind of person who can find and nurture other social connections easily? **HELL YES I COULD RETIRE THIS INSTANT.** I have enough hobbies and pasttimes to fill my life completely, around eight times over. And that’s just with what I already own and do! I have no out-of-work interaction with my co-workers, so no loss there. And my current circle of family and friends will continue just fine, I’m confident. It might increase - they won’t want to come over to watch movies on my home theater any _less_ than they currently do just because it includes better seats and a proper subwoofer. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Suppose you have children, nieces and nephews who are just starting their professional careers. Do you give each of them a million after-tax dollars? What would a million dollars do to their lives? If they’re smart, they’ll invest it all and be able to retire very comfortably at 50. But maybe they’re not so smart. Will it cause them problems? You’re sitting on _several hundred million dollars._ How will they feel about you if you don’t give them _anything_? I have no kids, and my nieces and nephews will be just fine getting nothing, because that’s what they’ll be used to. I don’t plan to _act_ like I’m rich (aside from the steel-core doors and double-bolted shutters), so they probably won’t think anything about my wealth at all, except to know that I always give at least half-decent gifts at birthdays and christmas. Like, worth as much as $50 maybe! (Which they already are used to, from me at least.) > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > TL,DR: a massive windfall inevitably changes your relationship with the rest of the universe. Are you the kind of person who can thrive with a new/different set of liberties and restrictions, or not? The only inevitable change is that I’ll retire immediately, and that some bank will be extremely happy to be holding my money in some simple savings account. As far as my associates are concerned I’ll still be the same guy - just slightly better off. Whoever ends up inheriting from me will be in for quite a shock, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-a-billion-dollars/823304.md?page=5)