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$586 Million?
Old 12-16-2013, 11:15 PM   #1
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$586 Million?

So, I have to admit that for entertainment purposes, I sometimes spend $2 for a lotto ticket. Even though the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Here are the "What would you do?" questions if you won:

Do you continue to handle your own finances? Or go with a financial group of advisers? (for me I would think I would still be frugal enough to not want to pay a fee)

Where do you put such a large sum of cash? Multiple banks, brokerages, credit unions? Are there specialty banks for the super rich?

How much do you help your family? Set up trusts to dish out cash on a bi-weekly basis? Give them whatever is currently the tax free amount (frugal bastard)?

Collect on the winning ticket the next day or wait for a few month(s) for the news to die down?

Just some things I'll have to consider with my 1 in 259 million chance of winning
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Old 12-16-2013, 11:47 PM   #2
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I would never buy a lottery ticket, because of the odds.

If I somehow ended up with the winning ticket, I suppose the tax-savvy choice would be to take payments instead of a lump sum. But, with this much money I would need, and could afford, some extra help in making these decisions. I would form an advisory team, including at the very least an accountant and a lawyer and probably other experts if I thought of any I needed. I would consult this team before formally accepting the money, to make sure I was not doing anything stupid. All this takes time, so my acceptance of the payout would not be at all immediate.

Depending on my team's advice and guidance, I would probably end up with several huge trusts held by several different institutions, from which money could be disbursed on a regular basis to myself and to loved ones.

But also.... 4% of $586 million is over $23 million per year; I think one million per year would cover my loved ones and me quite lavishly, so even after taxes, it sounds like there is some room for charitable donations as well. That would take some thought.

Good luck!
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Old 12-17-2013, 12:34 AM   #3
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I'm not sure how much cash it would take to adequately fund my newly acquired lifestyle, so I'd probably keep working for one more year, just for safety.
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Old 12-17-2013, 12:57 AM   #4
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I'm not sure how much cash it would take to adequately fund my newly acquired lifestyle, so I'd probably keep working for one more year, just for safety.

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Old 12-17-2013, 01:04 AM   #5
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I'm not sure how much cash it would take to adequately fund my newly acquired lifestyle, so I'd probably keep working for one more year, just for safety.
Maybe it would be time to think about moving.
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Old 12-17-2013, 01:14 AM   #6
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I would not know what to do with all that money. I will give it to Ponzi or Madoff to manage it. They can reduce it to manageable size for my FIRE.
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:27 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronnieboy View Post
So, I have to admit that for entertainment purposes, I sometimes spend $2 for a lotto ticket. Even though the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Here are the "What would you do?" questions if you won:

Do you continue to handle your own finances? Or go with a financial group of advisers? (for me I would think I would still be frugal enough to not want to pay a fee)

Where do you put such a large sum of cash? Multiple banks, brokerages, credit unions? Are there specialty banks for the super rich?

How much do you help your family? Set up trusts to dish out cash on a bi-weekly basis? Give them whatever is currently the tax free amount (frugal bastard)?

Collect on the winning ticket the next day or wait for a few month(s) for the news to die down?

Just some things I'll have to consider with my 1 in 259 million chance of winning
When I win(I'll buy 2 tickets today), I'll:

1. Manage my own finances. Having someone else do it would be a disaster
2. I would put most of the winnings in cd's at as many banks as it would take to still meet FDIC insurance limits. I would probably also invest in some real estate.
3. I would help out the family by paying off mortgages (there's maybe 3-4), and getting the MIL a condo with a garage so she doesn't have to park her car outside, and set up grandnieces/grandnephews with education funds
4. I'll wait a few months for the news to die down and for me to get my investment research done
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:33 AM   #8
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But also.... 4% of $586 million is over $23 million per year; I think one million per year would cover my loved ones and me quite lavishly, so even after taxes, it sounds like there is some room for charitable donations as well. That would take some thought.
I have a $1 ticket - fun to dream and talk with my DW about all the things we'd do.

Actually if you take the lump sum it is estimated at $316M right now so after taxes you're probably looking at maybe $180M so your 4% SWR might be more like $7-8M. I still think you could make ends meet on that.

We would take 30-50% and set up a charity and spend the rest of our lives giving away money. We might be able to involve our children in running it too which would help sustain it long term and keep us engaged with them.

We would also give $1M each to our parents and siblings.

After what's been 3 weeks of below freezing weather here we would also love a condo in Maui
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:51 AM   #9
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Get a good team of financial managers and keep them on a short leash.

Find a way to buy yourself some privacy.

THEN.....the only thing I'd do is buy a private jet! Just think about what you could do: "How about dinner in San Francisco?" "How about skiing in Aspen for the day?" "Let's go to the beach in St Martin this afternoon!"
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Old 12-17-2013, 05:59 AM   #10
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I know it sounds perverse, but I don't think I'd like to win, or otherwise be given, money on that scale. I think it brings out worst in people - both the recipient and all those around him/her.

If, despite that odd wish, it happened... I'd manage it myself. I'd set up trusts of $1M or so for the kids, make sure the grandchildren's college is covered, give a million or so to immediate family members, and then give the rest to charity.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:01 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Fishingmn View Post
I have a $1 ticket - fun to dream and talk with my DW about all the things we'd do. Actually if you take the lump sum it is estimated at $316M right now so after taxes you're probably looking at maybe $180M so your 4% SWR might be more like $7-8M. I still think you could make ends meet on that. We would take 30-50% and set up a charity and spend the rest of our lives giving away money. We might be able to involve our children in running it too which would help sustain it long term and keep us engaged with them. We would also give $1M each to our parents and siblings. After what's been 3 weeks of below freezing weather here we would also love a condo in Maui
If I had that kind of cash I wouldn't worry about that 4% withdrawal rate. Think I would bump it up to 5%.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:02 AM   #12
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I know it sounds perverse, but I don't think I'd like to win, or otherwise be given, money on that scale. I think it brings out worst in people - both the recipient and all those around him/her.
...........
+1 - I think it would totally screw over most people. The stories of ruined lottery winner's lives are legion.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:06 AM   #13
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Winning half a billion dollars would be my idea of a nightmare. Although almost everyone dreams of having that kind of money, the complications it would cause would far outweigh the benefits - at least to me.

Good luck to those of you who buy a ticket.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:17 AM   #14
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Winning half a billion dollars would be my idea of a nightmare. Although almost everyone dreams of having that kind of money, the complications it would cause would far outweigh the benefits - at least to me.

Good luck to those of you who buy a ticket.
+1

And the nightmare begins as soon as the winner's name is made public, ensuring that all your friends and family know exactly how much you won. It also helps you make many new friends .. an endless stream of extreme charity cases and con men people asking for help or offering their expertise. One quickly becomes a fugitive.

We have enough and hope to fade away slowly, safe in our anonymity.
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:19 AM   #15
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I don't play, so I won't bother with the hypothetical questions.

If I won without a ticket, I'd like to think I'd about double our current modest lifestyle/budget, keep about $10M in reserve and set about giving away the rest anonymously over the next 10-20 years. I've never been interested in living large...
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Old 12-17-2013, 06:47 AM   #16
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Most of the stuff I would want to do could probably be done comfortably, with just several million dollars, so I have no idea what I'd do with $586M...or even the ~$180M or so after taxes the lump sum might come out to be.

I would definitely quit my job. I used to think that if I ever came into a big windfall, I'd try to stay on, see how it goes, and perhaps phase it out slowly, but who am I kidding? I'm already getting to that point that I realize that my time on this earth is limited, and I don't want to spend any more of it than necessary stuck in an office. Plus, I'd think if I was financially loaded and knew I could walk out the door at any moment, it wouldn't take much aggravation at the office to set me off.

As for what to spend it on? Well, as I said, my aspirations really aren't that high. I'd probably put some money into my grandmother's house and fix it up nice for her. She's almost 90, and has been in the same house since 1950, so I think trying to move her, even to a nicer house, would devastate her. So I figure just try to make the house as nice and comfortable as possible for her final years in it, and then worry about selling it afterward.

Grandmom's cousin lives across the street, from her, and has an adult son, granddaughter, granddaughter's boyfriend, and three great-granddaughters all living with her, and she's pretty much supporting them. Giving the younger ones money would only spoil them and make them lazy I'm afraid. But I'd at least make sure that my grandmother's cousin, as long as she's alive, would never be in any danger of losing the house and would be comfortable, at least. Maybe I'd set up college funds for the three kids, though, help them out a little bit. And, I dunno how enabling this would be, but after Grandmom's cousin passes on, maybe set up something so that the rest of the family doesn't lose the house (which right now is almost a sure bet)

I have an uncle who needs a kidney transplant and is on dialysis. He also has other issues, which have made him not too likely to qualify for a kidney transplant (past instances of cancer and such). So I'd make sure that he's provided for.

My Mom and stepdad are doing okay, although they like to gripe about taxes, the high cost of everything, and so on, so they really wouldn't need much help. I might pay off their mortgage for them. I'm not that close to my Dad, but I'd set him up with something, at least, to make sure he's provided for, doesn't end up out on the street, etc.

I'd also try to keep as low-key as possible about winning all that money, but I'm sure it would be difficult. I have a feeling that I would end up moving, as well, but not sure where to. Someplace with a lot of land that's somewhat secluded, but still not too far from a big city, I guess. I'd also travel a lot. And, I have a few antique cars that I'd get fully restored. Plus, a lot of charitable donations.
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Old 12-17-2013, 08:23 AM   #17
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Buy an annuity
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Old 12-17-2013, 08:30 AM   #18
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I would immediately get a 900 telephone number and charge people $4.99/minute for calling me to solicit funds or scam me. And I would have an answering service handle the calls.
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Old 12-17-2013, 09:34 AM   #19
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I would continue working, and would gift my weekly salary and vacation to a few worthy individuals in megacorp. I am on the hook for some reimbursement paid out. After a year I would tire of that and begin doing something worthwhile with the money.
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Old 12-17-2013, 09:43 AM   #20
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Pay off my kids' houses, prepay their kids' future college costs, keep a million to fund all the fun stuff we would probably do anyway, and give the rest away.
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