My own cruise ship, fully staffed, to cater to my every whim and take me anywhere I wanted to go. It wouldn’t have to be one of the gigantic ones, but it would need a decent theater, an on-deck movie screen, a really nice pool and hot tub deck, and enough cabins that I could invite whoever I wanted whenever I wanted. Dopefest at sea- what could possibly go wrong? :eek:
And unlike cruise lines, I’d make sure there was a nice outdoor area for the crew to use when they’re off-duty. Because I’m nice, dammit!
Mrs. SMV always accuses me of thinking too small when comes to “win the lottery” fantasies - I’d buy a brand-new, fully-loaded Mazda Miata, for example - but in OP’s situation, I’d buy pens; Omas, Visconti, Faber-Castell, Montblanc, Pelikan. One or two each of all the high-end marques, plus a dozen or so Parker Sonnets, one for each pair of pants.
I also fantasize about walking into a bespoke tailor in New York or London, and saying, “Make me four suits and damn the cost.”
The modesty of my fantasies probably hints at why I’m not a billionaire.
Count me as one of those who wants their own private island. I would build my residence underground and keep the island itself as natural as possible - call it a nature preserve - and donate it upon my death to the nearest country. I would purchase an ultra-lux seagoing sailboat and take various voyages whenever the whim struck me. Both my home and my boat would have a full staff. Never having to cook, clean or crew again unless I so desired would be mahhhhvelous.
I would want to have a very good internet connection, as I would spend my time researching and writing several books I have had roiling about in my brain for some time now. Being mega-wealthy, I could self-publish and have the joy of seeing the finished product grace my bookshelf.
I would contact oredigger77 to see if I could arrange a two-week-per-year swap for a chance to visit Coeur d’Alene each year to remind myself that winter is beautiful and that I am pleased to no longer have to live with it. (I would of course offer my island retreat or my sailboat to oredigger77 for two weeks each year in return).
After fully endowing my present and future progeny with sufficient funding to give them the good life without taking away their ambition and drive, I would provide funds in my will to endow a chair in IPE at my alma mater.
Of course, a helicopter. Can’t fly jets all the time. I’d love to have my own jet helicopter, though. I’m thinking a Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk, but at least a Bell 207 or 207 JetRanger or LongRanger. For a piston ship, a Sikorsky S300 (Hughes 269/300, Schweizer 300) and an Enstrom 280.
You’re all probably thinking that my choices are a waste of being mega-wealthy; but I don’t really want all that much. I could easily come up with a collection of 20 or 30 new and used airplanes, but that would only add another seven digits. I could use more money to set up a flight school and hire instructors so they’d all get flown regularly, and I’d love to have a large hangar. I’d like a large house with a dedicated library, large kitchen, and space for other things that interest me; and a good bit of property. If I had a one-by-two-mile estate, I could put a long runway (6,000 feet minimum; 10,000 feet would be nice if I want to fly the T-38 heavy, with no flaps, in the rain) and the big hangar and the big house on it. And there are some films I’d like to make. Oh, and I’d like property here, property in a desert, and a house in New Orleans. Maybe a place in L.A. too.
But even with all of that, it would be hard for me to blow through three quarters of a billion dollars.
I used to say that if I had an extra million, the only change I would make would be to travel first class everywhere. But with unlimited millions, why not buy a 747 and keep a crew full-time. Also a yacht and crew while I am at it. And a chauffered limousine. And I would spend only six months of the year in the northern hemisphere, so I would need a house here and one, say, in Sydney. That, including salaries, should use up some billions right quick.
I’d rather fly myself. That limits the choices of aircraft. And I don’t like too much waste. A 747 is too much plane for my needs. But the convenience of an airplane under 12,500 pounds that I can fly without having to coordinate with another person is the main factor. The reason I chose the Eclipse 500. It’s small and efficient enough for most what I’d use it for. A Cessna CitationJet is a little faster and has a greater range, so that might be a better option. But for anything else, rich as I hypothetically am, I can just charter a jet.
I’m assuming that the girls, er, women are all willing and well compensated. Because otherwise, ick.
Thank you!
Saturn, check. Girls :dubious:
I think I’d like to buy an entire state, Montana say, maintain it like it’s a national park, except for my entirely self-sufficient estate. Because I like nature and need a good place to ride out the zombie apocalypse. While we’re at it, let’s add a large island somewhere tropical and a huuuuge estate in New Zealand.
Abso-friggin-lutely. A yacht too, while we’re at it. One of those mega-yachts, like Steve Jobs’, only not his, because that thing was ugly.
Yeah, pretty much all of this.
And horses, don’t forget the horse breeding and training facilities at my estates. You know how to make money with horses? Me neither. But I loves them anyways.
I’d buy a chunk of forest in northern Minnesota, with a river running through it or a decent sized lake. I would build a massive house, with a indoor half-Olympic sized pool, separate wings for family members, and create a wildlife sanctuary somewhere on the grounds.
I’d also toss a bunch of money to further research into 3-D organ creation. It’s coming along, but VERY slowly.
Establish a town-sized sealed compound in Towfiq, Somalia. All solar powered, water produced by desalinization of ocean water pulled from the ocean through a 20 mile underground tunnel. Guarded by automated & R/C drones and a reasonable number of well-equipped and trained mercenaries. Function of the compound is primarily research. We recruit the finest scientific minds and give them essentially an open checkbook and free rein to dig up knowledge (subject to reasonable and meaningful ethical standards, of course). Still undecided if we have a ground-based large array telescope or if we just put some proprietary stuff up in space in a geosynchronous orbit. Secondary function is the betterment of the lifestyle of the locals in an ever-widening radius via free water, assistance with converting the region to agriculture & light industry, maybe we even turn a chunk of it into an educational Mecca–sort of a gigantic liberal arts college. The main compound is, however, off-limits and highly secured.
