$1.73 Billion Dollars. What would you do.

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I noticed that restoring the Volvo P1800ES was not on the list! 

In reply to NOHOME :

My 1800E isn't either. 

After the lawyer/accountant/ financial adviser consultations to reduce double taxation by direct shares to recipients I would share the wealth to most family out to my 2nd cousins and also a few close friends.   The amount they would get depends upon how much I like them.  ( I can think of a few that would get zero)

Definitely give money to my favorite political causes and my church.  

I'm too old to do anything exciting like hunting in Africa  or entering the Baja 1000.

I would mostly be the same boring person except for a few things. 

Build a modernized, nicer version of my house on my girlfriend's property.  She's got much nicer land but her house is poorly laid out. Put a comfortable garage out back and some guest space.  I have a few charities that would probably get the bulk of the money.  There are also two museums I'd like to start.  One would be a permanent building to display the collection of vintage buses at work  right now they're stashed all over and no one can see them but on rare occasions.  The other would be a racing museum on Long Island.  There's a guy on Long Island with a collection of really cool racing stuff but the museum is just his house.  I'd love to see it maintained and displayed where it can be enjoyed.  

I'd make sure the people important to me were taken care of, not sure how I'd go about this, probably just leave them each some money to do what they need. 

See how eccentric I could become at work before being asked to leave.  My 10 year old company Durango would be replaced by a Rolls Cullinan with a light bar and company logos.  Business casual becomes business formal, maybe a top hat.  I'm curious how weird I can be, and what they'll put up with. 

Once I'm done there, travel.  There are so many places and events I want to take in, and I would try to see them all.  For hobbies, pick up a toterhome and stacker, a couple tour type modifieds and and a couple dirt cars, and put a couple kids in them and win races.  I figure all that will keep me busy until I stop waking up.  

Since it's harmless fun to daydream a bit: Lawyer up, hire an accountant and set up an LLC or similar to hide our identity as well as possible.  Take the lump sum, invest it conservatively and set up the family for generations.   Create a foundation to donate a fair chunk to charity and then PM Hungary Bill to hire him to be the director.  Spread around as much monetary love as possible.

On the selfish / personal level, I'd love to have a classic New England farmhouse on some acreage with a big view, a barn and some outbuildings for messing around with stuff.  I used to have a wooden boat, maybe again?   Explore the US and Canada by road, stop in the quirky places, see the natural wonders, meet the real people.  Probably not enough time left to do it all but I'd sure try. 

Realistically it's probably better to leave this at the daydream level.  That amount of money is sure to have unintended consequences and one of our favorite sayings is how much we like our quiet, simple, uncomplicated life.  Not interested in becoming a "celebrity".

It's be fun to spend it a billion on stock in the company I retired from.  The company is worth 88.6 billion  but even if I owned just 1/89 of the company, I bed I could have a seat on the board of directors.   Changes would be made.

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

I'll commit to giving you enough for the vintage bus museum, and a healthy paycheck to run it. 

wae said:

Beat me to it. 

Well, at least I could afford to have Aerosmith or Cheap Trick play at my birthday party... :)

Appleseed said:

The first thing I buy is a P-51. Then spend the rest of my life mastering flying it. Every other purchase is secondary.

Actually, the very first thing I do is send Randy a picture of the winning ticket. THEN buy the P-51

I would finally finish my project car, just the way I wanted... (Sorry if a repeat)

Do the lawyer, accountant, llc thing to stay as anonymous as possible. 

Then money to parents, siblings (and kids), and in-laws to set them up to live comfortably 

The extended family would benefit in different ways:

I'd want to set up a large enough money in trust and investments to pay for college for kids in the extended family, but make it conditional on grades. Basically the first semester is free, and after that the previous semester's grades need to be good enough to get credit for class towards a degree to continue to have tuition, fees, and room&board paid. 

Similar setup to essentially be a family credit Union. Mortgage, home improvement, and car loans with  zero (or low) interest, and when the note is paid off they get that money back in a lump sum. 

The final trust would be to help with medical expenses, and basically pay whatever isn't covered by their health plans. 

Other money would go to setting up charities: hockey tuition and equipment for kids that can't afford to play, pay for training for officials and coaches, big donation to the scholarship fund for the camp my boys went (and 1 still goes to) each summer, and donate to many others. 

Work for a while, until I get bored, then retire. Find space for a workshop and get some project cars, start auto crossing, travel, hire a personal trainer, nutritionist, and chef to help get in shape.

In general, enjoy it, help people, and try not to let it ruin me or the people close to me. 

Well, someone is a little bit richer today. There was only one winning ticket and it sold in Frasier Park, California. Someone is going home with all the marbles. Hopefully it's a blessing for them and not a curse. 

Better luck next time boys and girls. 

CAinCA said:

wae said:

Beat me to it. 

Because. Yes. 

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

I'll commit to giving you enough for the vintage bus museum, and a healthy paycheck to run it. 

Already done - well, sort of.

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

Pay all the associated taxes.

Give 3/4 of the rest to charities of my choice.

Use the rest for immediate family.

Pretty much this. Curtis has good taste and knows how to live well though.