$586 Million?

[Ronnieboy]

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

 

[W2R]

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!

 

[growing_older]

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.

 

[jon-nyc]

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.

 

[W2R]

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.

 

[robnplunder]

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.

 

[Ronstar]

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

 

[Fishingmn]

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

 

[marko]

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!"

 

[Jager]

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.

 

[Gunny]

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%.

 

[travelover]

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.

 

[REWahoo]

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.

 

[MichaelB]

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.

 

[Midpack]

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...

 

[Andre1969]

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.

 

[MRG]

Buy an annuity
MRG

 

[aja8888]

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.

 

[target2019]

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.

 

[Bestwifeever]

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.

 

[tryan]

I always thought setting up a trust that paid ONLY college expenses for direct decendants would be worth while. Maybe expand it upward to siblings kids and thier decendants if the wad was big enough.

 

[Sue J]

I would tell my Dad that I was going to pay for his assisted living facility from now on. He can still afford it but I know it bothers him to see his asset balance getting smaller every month. I'd just like to be able to take that burden from him.

I'd get a kitchen designer to create a spiffy new kitchen for us. I seem to have very little sense of style or design so I'd appreciate input from a professional. But no "open concept" stuff. I like my walls where they are and my kitchen separate from my living areas. I just want new and current and all the extra add-ons and options that make a new kitchen easy.

I'd buy my younger son a new Subaru Forester. He's driving a 1999 Forester with about 150k miles and it's a constant worry for him. I'd give the older son the equivalent amount in cash and let him decide what to do with it, I know he's a smart investor.

As for charity, I'd love to be able to help people or families that I read about locally, like someone who loses a child in a house fire and can't pay for a funeral or the animal shelter who rescues the animals from a hoarders house or any number of sad situations where people need some cash. There's usually a bank account set up to make donations but it would be nice to be able to write a check and give the entire amount that's needed.

The last time I bought a lottery ticket was last year when I thought about how I never spend my monthly pocket cash and that I really should try to spend more of it. So I bought $5 in lottery tickets, had a few hours of hoping to win something and then a full day of feeling just dumb that I had bought lottery tickets.

I haven't felt that dumb in a long time, maybe it's time to play the lottery again!

I always thought setting up a trust that paid ONLY college expenses for direct decendants would be worth while. Maybe expand it upward to siblings kids and thier decendants if the wad was big enough.

My FIL did this. It wasn't lottery winnings, it was just his investments and then later some of his life insurance money. There are 7 grandkids, my 2 sons are the oldest and they each had about $20,000 in 529 college savings accounts distributed over their 4 years of college. Younger grandkids ended up with more as the investments grew. One granddaughter let her portion grow as she cash flowed her undergrad at a local community college and she is now finishing at a private college using the 529.

The college trust didn't cover the entire tuition costs for my sons but it was a significant help and greatly appreciated.

 

[imoldernu]

Take care of family with a moderate gift.
Split the rest between the charities with the lowest overhead, starting with the Salvation Army.

 

[pb4uski]

I would keep some amount (probably $10m) and live larger (even though I'm actually pretty content with my current station in life). The rest would be invested and the income would be donated to worthwhile causes. Or perhaps use it to build some businesses that would help people.

One thing I think I would do is help people out. 60 minutes had a feature recently on a rich businessman that goes around giving $100 bills to people who seem like they could use it around the holidays (but I'd do it year round) ....and big tips to waitresses like you occasionally read about in addition to normal charitable contributions to worthwhile causes.

 

[Mulligan]

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

Ya this money is way over my head, and converting this all to online digits would scare me. I imagine the lump some is around 200 million. So I would rent an armed crew money truck business (with money fully insured) and drive to 800 banks to deposit $250,000 CD. I want a written receipt from each.. That should keep me busy for 6 months. I better make them automatic renewal after 5 years..