What would you do with $50 billion?

[Flamsterette_X]

50 billion US dollars? Oh my goodness… first of all, I’d get myself a totally brand new computer, entertainment system, new house (yeah, think a mansion or something here)… you get the idea.

Then I’d give some of it to charities, worthwhile causes (like the fight against cancer, and children’s charities), and the Salvation Army.

I might set up a few grants or something, too. With the accountants and investors I plan to hire (not to mention my house staff), I’d look to them for good solid financial advice.

Yes, I probably would buy things for my friends and family, as well. I’d probably also be generous with the poor, as well… just because i could afford to.

I’d save maybe half of it in the bank, just in case I needed to use any of that surplus.

[Sam_Stone]

**A. ** I’d set up a foundation to offer a 10 billion dollar prize to the first private company to land a person on the moon or mars. 1 billion to the first company to send more than 10 passengers into space and bring them back safely.

**B. **Set up a foundation to award grants and scholarships to students and researchers studying free-market principles and advanced technology. Fund it with 10 billion dollars, and use only the income from the money to fund these. About a billion a year. Then it would run forever.

**C. ** Take another ten billion, and directly invest in companies that have exciting and realistic plans for space exploration, but which lack funding. XCor, for example. Ten Billion dollars is more than enough to open the gateway to space by private industry.

**D. ** Take another ten billion, and give it to charities that I approve of.

**E. **Take the last ten billion, and go nuts.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

Well, I’ll tell you one thing. I’d splurge for the better parking permit. I currently pay $450 per year for so-so parking. If I paid $900, I could park in some SWEET spots. I’m too cheap to shell out that much for parking now, but if I had $50 billion in the bank, I think I could spring for it.

[Triskadecamus]

I think I would go out into the rural part of Virginia, and build, and staff the finest infant care center in the history of the planet. Then I would build a preschool of the same caliber. Not long after that I would build and staff an elementary school, then a middle school, and then a high school. Right after that I would need a teacher’s college, a general trades school, and then a nursing school, followed by a college of arts and sciences. A fairly good business school, and a fine arts college. I figure one entire billion for a library system based on the needs of those institutions.

With the basics done, I could begin to build my medical school, and the Hospital. I don’t think I could set up the Children’s Medical Research Institute for a few years, but I could have the Trauma center, and the mobile mass casualty unit getting started at the same time.

I set it up so the system serves the students, and if you get A’s you get refunds on tuition. (no tuition for local children, up to age twenty one.) Oh, yeah, and a printing facility, so we don’t have that fraud that they call textbook fees. You go to the College, you can sign up for our life time health care plan. Employees get it free.

As soon as we start producing Doctors, we start a program for pro bono work in the third world, and here at home. Forgiven your school costs if you spend as much time in pro bono work as you did in School. In thirty years I should be broke, but it should run on its own after that, if I can instill a sense of esprit de corps in the folks who become part of it.

Tris

[Triskadecamus]

Or, I would provide iodine, zinc, and folic acid, vitamin b6 and manganese for the entire third world for fifty years. including bribes in the places it needs to go most.

I could single handedly raise the world’s average I Q by six points, mostly at the bottom end, and reduce the anual cost of health care by a trillion dollars.

Yeah, that is probably the easiest thing to actually accomplish.

Tris

[blur]

Buy a Major League Baseball team. Buy my self the best player money could get, and win myself a world series.

Buy about 15-20 houses, spread out around the US, and a private jumbo jet to shuttle me around where ever I feel like staying that night.

Throw one hell of an all expenses paid weeklong dopefest.

Find worthy charitable causes and donate lots of money to them.

My hockey team would have the best equipment, instead of the hand me downs we all still use. (although we would still lose the big game)

[Com2Kid]

Well first I would set aside a royal arse-load of it so as to ensure myself a nice prime and proper multiple PhD style education.

(PhDs, why get just one? )

After that I would, err;

ok honestly?

By myself the complete works of every science fiction author from 1930 on.

And a big huge ass bookshelf / mansion to store them in.

And then I would sit down on my ass and read them all.

(that is actually my primary motivation in life, or at least it was/is before it got clouded with tons of other stuff. . . . now its aimed more towards helping other people, but why not go back to basics? )

Purchase my Grandmother a new Knee / Hip / Whatever Other Miscellaneous Bones She May Have Injured.

Setup a foundation that runs of the INTEREST of some of that money (a mere four billion dollars at 3% interest yearly and. . . . ) to help out old ladies who need medical procedures done.

Give a royal wad of cash to Seattle Children Home, they deserve it. Helped me get my life straight. (and with risk of using somebodies real name here, lets just say that one Martin Bullard would end up a VERY VERY rich man. Thanks Martin.)

Hire privet death squad to go around and assassinate companies who do shit I don’t like

I didn’t just say that.

Make prozac manufacturing plant, sell it cheap, just to piss off the company that is in charge of selling prozac big time. Hell I would likely start selling almost all of those overpriced prescription drugs cheap.

Start a “we give you free AIDs medicine if you stop f*cking people” campaign.

Remember to include clause in contract above about “balls being permanently chopped off if terms of contract are violated” .

Betcha I could get that AIDs thing licked in no time. (seriously, easiest disease to prevent EVER. I still can’t figure out why it even exists and spreads for that matter in developed countries. . . . in the undeveloped world sure I can understand, but come on, condoms are cheap, use them damnit.)

Set up special interest group to try and get laws passed requiring a license for having children. (after spending a few years in SCH a person gets the idea that there are a ton of parents in this would who SHOULD have been required to undergo some sort of basic preliminary examination. . . .)

err, I guess I still would have about 42billion left, hehe.

err, 126 million a year at three percent interest;

I would choose 31 random families each year to make rich (4 million each, with two million going back into the account and / or into some sort of emergency expenditures account)

[MrVisible]

I’d set up a new music industry.

Spend a few months consulting with artists about how to make a living if you use mp3’s to get exposure. Possibly set up a chain of intimate venues, with good sound systems and minimal noise, so that people could listen to live music instead of drinking to it. All rigged for simultaneous webcast, of course. First two songs free, the rest of the concert stream charged for. Get CDs out there for a reasonable price; $5.99 sounds about right. Make sure to give the artists control over their rights, and increase their take significantly once production costs on an album go down. Avoid commercial radio altogether; instead promote through independent radio and media, with most promotion coming from web sites and internet radio. Heck, start a few internet radio stations; pay people who love the music to play the music. See what catches on.

With luck, in a few years, we’d have a system where artists can make a living without the distribution companies ripping them off, and where a musician can feel free to explore their talents without having to kowtow to the Current Trends. I’d love to see what would happen then.

Also, I’ve got a couple of research projects I’d need funded. I don’t want to elaborate, but they’d revolutionize physical fitness, and pretty much end obesity in America. Seriously. Anybody know any venture capitalists?

[chique]

50 billion?

Ok.

5 billion off the top to go to charity. And not the major charities, either - I’d apportion it out to those little guys that never get any funding. Those odd women’s shelters and poor school orchestras and little humane societies and the like. Oh, and NPR - to upgrade their sites to something besides Real Player Nothing to organized religion, but I won’t shun organizations affiliated with religion. Oh, and Carl Finley’s Boys Ranch, cos my dead gramma would haunt me if I didn’t give them anything.

That leaves 45 billion.

I would give a billion each to each and every one of the people who are near and dear to me (18 billion total to family members, let’s say 20 billion to real and online friends) to use as they pleased. Pay off bills, buy stuff, whatever.

That leaves 7 billion.

Once that’s gone, I’d build the Twins a stadium in the Camden Yards style. BUT. The only seats that cost more than 10 bucks each would be those ballyhooed ‘sky boxes’ - for those it’d be MINIMUM 10k per game. Maybe more. Hot dogs wouldn’t cost more than two bucks; beer tops out at 4 - for the GUINNESS.

That leaves (if I build a REALLY extravagant stadium) 6 billion.

Then I would buy up certain lots and buildings along MN 23 in St. Cloud, raze them, and build parks. Trees and grass and water and flowers - ANYTHING to break up that tar and concrete monstrosity. Then bequeath enough money to maintain those parks.

Now I’m down to 5 billion.

Next I’d get me some elective surgery. Nothing serious, really - lipo and stomach stapling. And that laser hair removal. OH, yeah. I HATE shaving.

Um. Let’s just say I still have 5 billion.

The rest of my money would go into various stock/bond/mutual fund type deals. Set up a gazillion SUBSTANTIAL college scholarships for those who’ll never be an Einstein. Every year, 10-50% of my investment income would go to some more of those little tiny charities. And ya know those heartbreakers you read in the paper about a family of 8 losing their home to fire right before Christmas? THEY’RE getting some money

And then? I’d remove myself to a certain courtyarded building on Calle Gravina in a certain Andalusian coastal town and spend my winnings buying 1st class, round trip tickets for people to come visit me. Hire a personal trainer. Buy a Harley and a nice black leather-interior Mercedes sedan.

And travel a lot.

[ElwoodCuse]

Buy Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka a nice wedding present.

Buy my beloved San Jose Sharks.

Drop out of school and tell my family to fark off.

Donate to non-traditional groups like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and, just for the hell of it, the Libertarian Party.

Greenlight Strange Brew 2: Electric Boogaloo, and arrange for a DVD of the original.

[MrVisible]

I’d set up a new music industry.

Spend a few months consulting with artists about how to make a living if you use mp3’s to get exposure. Possibly set up a chain of intimate venues, with good sound systems and minimal noise, so that people could listen to live music instead of drinking to it. All rigged for simultaneous webcast, of course. First two songs free, the rest of the concert stream charged for. Get CDs out there for a reasonable price; $5.99 sounds about right. Make sure to give the artists control over their rights, and increase their take significantly once production costs on an album go down. Avoid commercial radio altogether; instead promote through independent radio and media, with most promotion coming from web sites and internet radio. Heck, start a few internet radio stations; pay people who love the music to play the music. See what catches on.

With luck, in a few years, we’d have a system where artists can make a living without the distribution companies ripping them off, and where a musician can feel free to explore their talents without having to kowtow to the Current Trends. I’d love to see what would happen then.

Also, I’ve got a couple of research projects I’d need funded. I don’t want to elaborate, but they’d revolutionize physical fitness, and pretty much end obesity in America. Seriously. Anybody know any venture capitalists?

[chique]

50 billion?

Ok.

5 billion off the top to go to charity. And not the major charities, either - I’d apportion it out to those little guys that never get any funding. Those odd women’s shelters and poor school orchestras and little humane societies and the like. Oh, and NPR - to upgrade their sites to something besides Real Player Nothing to organized religion, but I won’t shun organizations affiliated with religion. Oh, and Carl Finley’s Boys Ranch, cos my dead gramma would haunt me if I didn’t give them anything.

That leaves 45 billion.

I would give a billion each to each and every one of the people who are near and dear to me (18 billion total to family members, let’s say 20 billion to real and online friends) to use as they pleased. Pay off bills, buy stuff, whatever.

That leaves 7 billion.

Once that’s gone, I’d build the Twins a stadium in the Camden Yards style. BUT. The only seats that cost more than 10 bucks each would be those ballyhooed ‘sky boxes’ - for those it’d be MINIMUM 10k per game. Maybe more. Hot dogs wouldn’t cost more than two bucks; beer tops out at 4 - for the GUINNESS.

That leaves (if I build a REALLY extravagant stadium) 6 billion.

Then I would buy up certain lots and buildings along MN 23 in St. Cloud, raze them, and build parks. Trees and grass and water and flowers - ANYTHING to break up that tar and concrete monstrosity. Then bequeath enough money to maintain those parks.

Now I’m down to 5 billion.

Next I’d get me some elective surgery. Nothing serious, really - lipo and stomach stapling. And that laser hair removal. OH, yeah. I HATE shaving.

Um. Let’s just say I still have 5 billion.

The rest of my money would go into various stock/bond/mutual fund type deals. Set up a gazillion SUBSTANTIAL college scholarships for those who’ll never be an Einstein. Every year, 10-50% of my investment income would go to some more of those little tiny charities. And ya know those heartbreakers you read in the paper about a family of 8 losing their home to fire right before Christmas? THEY’RE getting some money

And then? I’d remove myself to a certain courtyarded building on Calle Gravina in a certain Andalusian coastal town and spend my winnings buying 1st class, round trip tickets for people to come visit me. Hire a personal trainer. Buy a Harley and a nice black leather-interior Mercedes sedan.

And travel a lot.

[chique]

[sub]Oops [/sub]