OT: What would you do if you won the lottery?

Submitted by DISCUSS Man on

What would you do if you won the record lottery amount? The record for a single ticket claim is $590.5M which came out to a payout of $370.9M to one lucky person in Florida two years ago.

How would you celebrate? Would you buy anything right off the bat? Would you quit your job in a fun way? Would go big and buy a mega-house in a fancy location?

Would you do anything Michigan-related? Perhaps go and watch them play in bowl games, the CFP or NCAA Tournaments in Basketball?

MGoBoard
OT Season
it has begun

The Dirty Nil

March 17th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^

If I won millions, everyone (almost everyone) in my immediate family would be set for life. Then I'd sell my house and upgrade, then I'd sell my Subaru and upgrade, then I'd sell or give away all of my everything and upgrade. Then I'd invest. Mainly in property/buildings, since that is what I'm familiar with. I feel like it's a normal thing for Americans to think about.

Joined: 05/13/2012

MGoPoints: 6222

MGoClimb

March 17th, 2015 at 9:41 PM ^

I would invest the majority of it. Some would go to friends and family. I would then make a nice little donation to the University of Michigan.

Joined: 07/31/2012

MGoPoints: 9026

LSAClassOf2000

March 17th, 2015 at 9:44 PM ^

I might be the boring one here - I would pay off my student loans, mortgage and other things that need to get paid off and then probably renovate the house I am in and invest the rest of the money - perhaps move at some point, but not into anything spectacular as we don't need shit tons of room to live necessarily. If nothing else, it would mean I was working because I wanted to work and some of the stress is gone then. I'd probably travel to places I haven't been in ages or indeed at all. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130636

Wolverine Devotee

March 17th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^

Pretty much what I plan on doing in the future except I'd just have it a lot sooner. 

Normal 2-story house in A2. Paint whole thing Maize and Blue inside and out (like the room that I have posted on this site) and get season tickets for multiple sports. I'd be a heck of a lot more liberal with my spending on Michigan gear with that much money. 

I'd also make a donation the athletic department to renovate Oosterbaan Fieldhouse so it can have actual seating for Lacrosse games instead of being seated in crappy bleachers like a junior HS football game. I'd donate enough to turn it into an actual indoor stadium. 

Hmm....I wouldn't have to work another day in my life. So that means I could get some more ink, but in visible places that I couldn't normally do like my knuckles and forearms.

I'd give $1M to my parents. They deserve it, and could finally stop working. 

I'm not a very exciting person. The only person excited about my answer is me. 

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

Wolverine Devotee

March 17th, 2015 at 10:37 PM ^

Ink is probably more socially acceptable than a Maize and Blue house. In fact, the pain from the getting the tats I already have probably pales in comparison to the pain I had when painting the room Maize and Blue about 5 years ago. 

Knuckle tattoos can look really good if it's a good look and, well, means something.

or it can go horribly bad if you get ones like Kid Ink

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

Don

March 17th, 2015 at 9:46 PM ^

A contribution to the athletic dept that would dwarf J. Ira Harris's with the provision that the head coaching position be permanently called "The Glenn E. Schembechler Head Football Coach of the University of Michigan."

 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148371

AlwaysBlue

March 17th, 2015 at 9:55 PM ^

family first. Next I'd spend a week around the office not holding my tongue. That would get me fired. After that I'd build a house of my dreams which wouldn't be large... I just wouldn't care about resale value when I had a library, office, 1 bedroom and the most amazing wall to wall music system. Then I'd start a nonprofit.

Joined: 11/23/2008

MGoPoints: 7854

BayWolves

March 17th, 2015 at 9:56 PM ^

Buy the rights to the original Annual Boob Cruise and have the kickoff party and after party at my house.

Joined: 06/21/2011

MGoPoints: 11056

mchicagoblue

March 17th, 2015 at 10:00 PM ^

Pay off student loans and my parents' house, buy a house of my own, Blackhawks, Bulls, and Michigan football season tickets, and spend my time pursuing hobbies, possibly going into business with them.

Joined: 03/01/2015

MGoPoints: 1711

LKLIII

March 17th, 2015 at 10:02 PM ^

I own my own little law firm and like my life generally. Live in a nice town and like my circle of friends/hobbies. I'd basically just do what I am doing but just "more". Specifically though....Phase 1: First I'd put the signed ticket in my safe deposit box and tell my wife about it with strict instructions to not tell anybody else. Then I'd head to downtown Chicago (I live in the suburbs) and hire some insanely high end law firm to advise me on how to properly claim the money for tax purposes and to coach me up on living trusts, gift taxes, charitable trusts, etc. and to give me reading materials on these topics. Phase 2: give my current clients and other colleagues some BS excuse about a family emergency and go to a luxury secluded Caribbean resort on my own dime for a few weeks with my wife to get away from the hustle & bustle to map out what our plan would be to claim the money officially, along with deciding whether/how to set up a trust for our extended family (parents adult siblings cousins nephews etc). Basically get all our ducks in a row prior to claiming the cash. Phase 3: claim the cash and brace for impact. Phase 4: immediately pay off all debts and mortgages, dump about $100K into a savings account, and set up auto debits for 100% of my recurring bills so I wouldn't have to worry about that for a year or two. Have a family meeting or send out a letter to all family members outlining the terms of the family trust (if any). Hard and fast rules very clearly stated up front and adhered to so when Cousin Vinny tries to get a second bite at the apple for a "loan" he knows right up front he'll be denied. Final Phase: designate a relatively modest amount of cash for "mad money" maybe $100K for my wife and I each, but then. lock the vast majority of the cash away in a very low yield and safe investment portfolio that is relatively illiquid for at least a year or two, then mostly live off of our current income (but with no overhead due to prior debt payments). My theory is that people flip out and go crazy not due to the size of the money but due to the sudden increase and they don't have the know how or infrastructure to deal with all of the complications. Over the course of maybe 10-15 years, I would slowly increase the amount of investment income we allow ourselves to access so they we acclimate ourselves to being insanely wealthy over time & never touch the principle. Maybe design and build a dream house 2-5 years later and 8-12 years later start to buy other properties, vacation homes, fractional jet ownership etc. by dipping into some of the principle, but never below a certain floor like $100M.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927

HANCOCK

March 17th, 2015 at 10:59 PM ^

Very impressive plan. 

 

The only part that I would change is the part about Cousin Vinny. I would negotiate with family about how we can help them out and ensure nobody has to work any shit jobs anymore.

 

And I would probably build the dream house in 1 year, and set the floor of prinicple at something like $10 million.

 

You cant take it with you when you die, so you might as well spend a good, large amount of it. Id probably buy a large ownership stake in the Chicago Cubs (I would but a majority share if it became available, but the current owner is a lifelong fan who probably isnt interested in selling).

Joined: 10/16/2012

MGoPoints: 1665

LKLIII

March 18th, 2015 at 4:31 AM ^

Well, I would definitely do a family trust for my siblings parents nieces nephews etc but it would largely involve debt relief (from current credit card debt as in "this is your chance for a one time bailout so develop a budget going forward now"), tuition payment, and maybe an annual family gathering at a nice resort. I'd obviously pay the freight occasionally for friends to come on vacations with us. But as far as "helping friends and family out" so they don't have shit jobs, etc---I think that's exactly the kind of things that make the lotto winner go broke. If there aren't hard and fast rules that everybody knows up front you will get fleeced to death. You'd be amazed at how many "friends"
you will get or how "in need" some of your current friends become once a pile of $180M in cash shows up. It's either endless business plans proposed by siblings friends or cousins, sob stories, or you end up putting friends/family on a payroll for invented do nothing jobs. But my concern is that it will never end. And in my experience, once you are paying somebody continuously (as opposed to a one time only single payment with no strings), it injects an odd power imbalance that creates resentments from the people on the receiving end of the money. The "you've changed and only hang out with rich friends" thing likely happens because the wealthy person doesn't want to continue giving cash to friends who are harping on them all the time. And hanging out with other wealthy folks is at least one way to make sure that your friends aren't hanging around you only to mooch off of your newfound wealth.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927

LKLIII

March 18th, 2015 at 4:36 AM ^

And if we're talking about the level of cash the OP stated, lump sum after taxes you're talking about $200M. I'd ease myself into that money slowly. The first few years $500K or $1M annually would feel like a lot of money. Eventually I'd dip into principle with a floor of $100M. You can't take it with you, which is why I'd eventually blow $100M on a few properties, some small business ideas I have, charitable/political efforts, etc. But the reason I'd try to keep a base $100M in principle is because I have kids. I'd love to be able to set them up with the money IF I can successfully make sure they won't become cocaine addled trust fund losers.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927

B-Nut-GoBlue

March 17th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^

Me likey the way you thinkey. I like the Jason Bourne approach to dipping out to a corner of the world for a bit (I know you just said Caribbean). I think I'd follow a lot of what you state other than the fact I/we don't have the current income to do something fancy initially, though I suppose a credit card trip purchase would work as it'd get paid off easily.

Joined: 09/30/2011

MGoPoints: 43697

LKLIII

March 17th, 2015 at 10:06 PM ^

And apologies for no paragraphs. On the app. Oh and final phase: worry like hell and consult child psychologists for advice on raising kids so my infant daughter and other future kids don't turn into spoiled brat trust fund kids with drug habits because their parents got insanely lucky in the lottery.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927