If I won a million dollars in the lottery, I would take lump sum...after taxes I'm guessing I'd have an amount around $300,000. With that, I'd do some home renovation & landscaping, travel, and invest.
If I had $1,000,000 take home, I would also buy some gold.
If I win the big one tonight, and have a take home of, say, $450,000,000, I'd...
- Talk to a lawyer and financial advisor before claiming the money. Try to keep it secret, even from my kids, if I could. But, if you win the big one, it would be near impossible to keep secret, I'd imagine.
- Bank it: I'm guessing I would be opening an account at a major, non-retail bank for rich people, like Goldman Sachs. Although, I would fill up my local bank account to the amount insured by the government, which I think is $500k for my wife and I.
- Quit my job when the money is in my account.
- Then, I would spend, some on expendables/enjoyment, but some primarily to diversify my wealth:
- Gold: A large amount...at least a roll of 20, 1 ounce gold coins for each of my kids (and maybe some rolls of fractional ounce coins for them)...which they would not get or even know about until I die--they'd know I have something, but not the amount.
- Charity...finally give what I would like to give, and maybe sit on their boards.
- Donate to my church.
- Donate to my favorite other charities
- local veterans charity
- local home for unwed mothers and those with crisis pregnancies
- Set up a charitable foundation to manage future donations.
- Health: I once read about a 5-figure yearly service for the ultra rich which runs all kinds of tests on you in an effort to find every possible problem early. I'd find that company and sign my wife and kids up.
- Education: I'd sign up for language courses.
- Property
- New house nearby (one story ranch to grow old in, a little further out, but still close to current friends and family)...install a wine cellar, and maybe a storm/safe room underground. (Frankly, I'd be happy to just renovate my current house, but it isn't the best house to grow old in.)
- Rural property in-state
- Property in a northern mountain state...I'm thinking Idaho/Montana area
- Property outside the United States...maybe something on each continent, and hire services to maintain them.
- Art. I like paintings and sculpture, and I've always wanted to own some original artwork. I don't own any now, but I have a few artists in mind. That would be a fun hobby and a way to diversify my wealth.
- Cars...maybe.
- My wife gets a new car right away.
- I'd have to do some thinking. Maybe a nice truck. (Although I hate the features on the new vehicles these days, so maybe not.)
- Maybe cars for the kids, so they have safer cars (nothing lavish for them...probably gently used cars). One kid has a tiny car, and I'd like to replace that with a larger, safer car.
- Wine: Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. I'm a sucker for good wine, and I would finally be able to buy the wine I want to drink, not just drink the wine I can buy now.
- Toys: I was thinking maybe a few fun guns that are akin to investments, like an expensive over/under shotgun, or the like.
Not that I've thought about this at all.
If you have $450 million, then frankly, you have to "spend" just to diversify your wealth position, so it is not all digital cash at one bank which could fail. I could sit here and say, "I'm a simple man, and I don't need much." But, it would be foolish not to diversify my holdings, for myself and for my kids and grandkids. In other words, it would be foolish not to do some "financial prepping." I'd have to look into setting up long term emergency funds for the family, that the kids and later generations could not touch except in the event of emergency. I don't want them being spoiled rich kids. Self-earned self-sufficiency is one factor in having a happy life. But, if troubled times come, I'd want them to be able to have the resources to handle things.
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