# Would Bill Gate's life style really suffer if he awoke with Oprah's money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500 "2004-12-18T06:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/21 "2004-12-19T05:37:11Z")
I think the answer to the OP is that his lifestyle wouldn’t change. But he might be dropped from the record book as the biggest philanthropist, because with Oprah’s money he couldn’t give the billions that he’s given his foundation (she’s only worth about one billion IIRC). > [@yabob](#): > > Their recent $3/share one-time dividend gave him a whopping $3 billion in income. Man, I wish I could just have one day’s interest on that before he gave it to charity. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/22 "2004-12-19T08:09:20Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > Interestingly, Gates has said several times that, aside from a bit of cash for his kids, he plans to end up with nothing at the end. Meaning, he plans to give it ALL away. This is what I find most interesting about Bill Gates – he gives a huge portion of his assets to charity. You know, as in well-beyond the expected amount of philanthropy. As well, while he’s certainly known for having a, well, top-of-the-line house and all that, he’s never been known for economic excess. I don’t believe he even drives an expensive car; its just not his thing. I suspect he will end up “giving it all away”; literally, his entire fortune will eventually be surrendered to causes he deems deserving. All in all, could you ask for a cooler Richest Guy in the World? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/23 "2004-12-19T19:34:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t believe he even drives an expensive car; its just not his thing. Isn’t Gates the rich guy that is famous for having a 959? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/24 "2004-12-19T20:14:14Z")
> [@Hazel](#): > > At some level of richness, you can buy absolutely anything you want; you can live as lavishly as is possible. You can have multiple homes, plenty of servents, buy anything you want, travel anywhere you want, any time you want, etc, etc. Once you’ve achieved this level, why seek more money? If you loose a chunk of your dough, but are still above the miniumum needed to maintain the situation described above, what would be the problem? I disagree with this. Even when I was a child and I would hear people say “a million dollars is more than you can ever spend,” the first thing I would think is “bullshit.” I’m very confident that I could spend a million dollars in a day, without any advance notice. I’ve spent a lot of time calculating these situations in my head, and to get myself into the situation you describe above, I would need hundreds of billions of dollars. I believe that’s more than anyone has ever had, except maybe JDR if you adjust for inflation. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/25 "2004-12-19T20:27:56Z")
_From what I understand about Gates, money isn’t really what drives him_ He has one of the worlds most advanced movie theater in his house (most advanced last I heard). It may not be what drives him, but he certainly does enjoy his moolah. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/26 "2004-12-19T20:41:48Z")
> [@Stan Doubt](#): > > Isn’t Gates the rich guy that is famous for having a 959? Gates and Paul Allen bought a pair of them in the early 90’s. They’ve only recently gotten the US government to allow them on the streets. One of the stumbling blocks in getting them street legalized was the refusal of Porsche to provide any of them for crash testing - we are talking an extremely limited production model here, and you can see the problem. But the Department of Transportation said “You don’t let us crash up to 4 of them, and you don’t get them approved.” Gates is not one of those billionaires like the guy who founded IKEA, and still lives like a working stiff. Gates does spend his money flambouyantly sometimes. Of course, a $500K car represents a slice of his net worth corresponding to about ten bucks for for somebody who’s merely a millionaire. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/27 "2004-12-19T20:42:54Z")
Gates’ lifestyle might not have to change much if he had Oprah’s money, because apart from his house ($40 MM or so, compared to $50 MM on a home Oprah recently bought) he’s not known as a particularly high living kind of guy – at least relative to his wealth. The same is true of Warren Buffett, the Walton family and most of the others on the tippy top of the Forbes 400. Some of the other multi-billionaires, however, would see their lifestyles change. MSFT cofounder Paul Allen, for example, just dropped $250 MM on a [boat](http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/megayachts/1103top100/index1.html). He also has two other mega-yachts which probably set him back another $200 MM between them. f he woke up with Oprah money he’d probably have to scale back a bit (and he certainly couldn’t give away his smaller ones to his family as he moved up the scale). He might also have to trade in the 2 757s for a single smaller craft on the order of a G-IV, not so much for the entry costs as the operating nut. Larry Ellison, with the $100 MM home and the yacht collection (he just ordered one to be bigger than Allen’s record-setter) might also fall into the category of people who have to take a lifestyle haircut. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/28 "2004-12-20T13:04:09Z")
I know a lawyer who serves a primarily very wealthy clientelle. He once summed up rich people this way: “They all reach a point where spending a dollar or earning a dollar brings them no pleasure. Screwing somebody, preferrably a friend, out of a dollar is the only enjoyment money can give them.” ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/29 "2004-12-20T13:39:24Z")
> [@aeropl](#): > > Man, I wish I could just have one day’s interest on that ($3 billion) before he gave it to charity. In case anyone’s wondering, a day’s interest would be in the region of $410,000 (at 5%). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/30 "2004-12-20T15:45:24Z")
> [@Hazel](#): > > She not only has a persona chef, And, boy, does she need one, with her persona going stale every few months. > [@](#): > > she can afford to give everyone in her audience a _can_, for god’s sake! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/31 "2004-12-20T18:32:28Z")
Well, off the top off my head I can think of one thing he wouldn’t be able to do: hire Oprah as a foot stool. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/32 "2004-12-20T20:21:45Z")
_From what I understand about Gates, money isn’t really what drives him_ Swear to Og, but I recall reading in several biographies of Gates that he was a **really** bloodthirsty Monopoly player. Sure would explain a lot, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500/33 "2004-12-20T20:45:39Z")
This is pretty much what I mean, **rjung**. Neither Monopoly money nor his own money (which has long since become like Monopoly money to him, I’m sure) is what drives him. It’s playing the game, and playing it skillfully and aggressively intelligently, and bettering his opponents, that drives Gates. I saw a profile of him several years ago on television. At that time his house was under construction but he was still living in the relatively modest home that he had owned for many years even after becoming one of the world’s wealthiest men. He flew on commercial airliners without an entourage, drove a Lexus (which, while a damn fine car and one I’d love to have, is still a rather modest ride for someone of his means) and was filmed ordering his usual cheeseburger and Coke at Wendy’s. I’m not saying Gates is a wonderful person. My own opinion is that he would be difficult to get close to and hard to stay on the good side of. But he is using his wealth in such a way as to do a lot of good, and in such a way as to ensure it actually does accomplish its intended good ends rather than being squandered away by the costs of its own administration. All in all, I think Gates is an extremely smart, cunning, driven and ruthless businessman who derives his satisfaction in life from growing and operating the wonderful machine he has developed which is known as Microsoft. Again, I don’t really think money, in and of itself, is much of a motivator for him…apart from a way of keeping score, perhaps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bill-gates-life-style-really-suffer-if-he-awoke-with-oprahs-money/280500.md?page=1)