You're a billionaire. What's the first 5 things you do?

Derick Freese wrote: In reply to JoeyM: I know of these places. The mines are nice and all, but I'd love to have the old Aerojet facility, but it's part of the Everglades National Park now.

That is a good idea. I was just trying to think of something local to me, but that shares one of the main ideas I had; make use of land that's already been disturbed. Most of the old mines around here are turned into lakes or parks.

I also like the low cost sustainable housing idea.

Derick Freese wrote: Other than that, I'd just mess around with things. Maybe learn some old skills like blacksmithery. Building things is more fulfilling to me than using things.

I totally get that....this is why I have an english wheel in the garage.

meh.

1. new ZR1

2. finish all current customer projects and never take on another except for my very best customers who refuse to have anyone but me work for them.

3. buy half of cleveland

4. build new garage/shop so i can be like one of those guys who owns one of every car he's ever wanted.

5. hook my high school up with the cash to start a marching band

OK, thinking a bit this morning, I have add another in the middle of mine:

BUY THE NURBURGRING.

Set up a bunch of high interest accounts.

Buy my kids a free ride to whatever college they want to attend.

Buy houses all over the U.S. and fill each one with Craigslist beaters.

Road trip!

Live like Tony Stark.

The first step is obviously to hire people smarter than myself to help save the money from myself and the government.

The second step is to buy the largest plot of land that I can find for sale within 50 miles or so of where I currently live. I'd hope for 1000+ acres. I'd then subdivide it among my closest friends and family and allow them to design and construct their own homes, most likely on my dime.

Garage. There'd be one large complex that we could all use to store and build whatever the hell we want.

Beyond that? Who cares. I'm rich, bitch.

Oh, I would buy enough land in the British Commonwealth to make myself a Lord.

build a race track. build race car.

build race car. +
build race car.
build race car.
build race car.
buy a barn to keep my "projects"

Ok, sitting down and thinking about it seriously.

1. Get SWMBO whatever she needs/wants whenever. She's the best thing to happen to me.. And I'll make sure she never wants/needs anything.
2. Setup accounts for parents (mine and SWMBO's) as well brothers and sisters. Put $10 Million in each of them and set them up to be used either now (for parents) or at retirement. I have a bunch of family that isn't planning for their future, and I've figured that with $10M, they could live extremely comfortably off the interest.
3. Pay off said family members' houses/debts.
4. Get Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University for said family members. Now that they are in the clear, learn to stay there.
5. Setup similar accounts (with less) for my boys and my nieces/nephews. Split it into a sum for college, and a sum for retirement. If the decide to go into a trade and not college, they will get the money at a later date (probably 30-35) to give them time to establish themselves. Retirement pool to be available at retirement age
6. Donate to cancer, MS, ALS research.
7. Buy a BFH at the beach. SWMBO and I dream of having a house on the shore.
8. Invest the rest to minimize taxes/maximize income/preserve principle.
9. Quit work. Do whatever I want for a few months to a year. Then pick up small consulting gigs for when I am bored.
10. Buy some big land. Build kick ass road course. Awesome garage facilities. Invite everyone over for track days.
11. Buy whatever cars I like... 5 Seat convertible for ice cream runs? Done. 3rd Gen Trans Am... Done.. Anything I feel like? ... Done
12. .....
13. Profit?

Conquest351 wrote: Just a fun game. No, I'm not a billionaire suddenly. Say you become a billionaire, overnight, some unknown relative leaves you something like $4 Billion. What's the first 5 things you do? Ready? GO!!

Get good lawyers.

Get good accountants.

Buy land, preferably where it is cheap, but close enough to civilization that suburban sprawl will increase its value dramatically in 20-40 years.

Invest a large percentage in steady long-term investments and simply forget it exists.

That's four... everything else follows after that. First, protect yourself, second, protect the money, third, convert some of the money into tangibles you have have right now, fourth, convert some more of the money into the big-bucks equivalent of the $20 you forgot was in your glovebox.

After all that comes ensuring stability and security for close friends and family, buying toys, starting the kind of business that is a bad idea profit-wise but an enjoyable way to keep your hands busy, etc.

Sorry this is so dull and boring. It'd be nice if the first thing was a copy of every Group B car ever made, stuff like that, but first things have to come first.

1. Buy Daytona.... no the whole place.

2. Never be cold again

3. Finish the damned Mustang

4. Finish the damned GTV6

5. Finish the damned.... and so on

1.Secure money

2.Every car project I have ever wanted

3.LAND(Detroit, 28k acres in the ADK, Falling Water, ect)

4.Philanthropy

5.Whatever I want to do that day

Make stuff bigger.

PHeller wrote: Make stuff bigger.

Wait for you to spend your money making things bigger, then buy all of it from you for pennies on the dollar.

Then I'll spend a little bit of my billions making your previously-owned big stuff a little bigger, and then buy Aussie a bigger bus.

Then I'll have a big steak, with a couple big beers, and call it a day.

1. Establish the holding companies and various infrastructure so $1B commences growing, immediately.

2. We love our house, and the mortgage isn't much. Finish the outside, finish the garage.

3. Buy a place in Southern California. Nothing fancy, but a place for when we're there, which will be often.

4. Travel. Easy, cause we won't be working anymore, at least for a while.

5. Buy a Hinckley Picnic Boat for when the wind's not blowing, and a Hinckley Bermuda 40 for when it is.

6. Start a charitable trust and give money to whoever the berkeley I feel like giving it to. If you start a national campaign promoting advanced driver training, I'd give you money.

7. Promote not-overly large venue punk shows with the bands I want to see. The Descendents, The Dickies, and Sloan doing their punk set? Sure, why not.

8. I'd keep racing the same car, but I'd get an enclosed trailer.

2 chicks at the same time

Buy houses/pay off all debt for my immediate family

Buy huge plot of land

Build racetrack on said land with a huge skid pad

Host all local autocross/rallycross/road race events and be one heck of a happy guy.

Spoolpigeon wrote: 2 chicks at the same time Buy houses/pay off all debt for my immediate family Buy huge plot of land Build racetrack on said land with a huge skid pad Host all local autocross/rallycross/road race events and be one heck of a happy guy.

The 1001 way has you beat!!! Except for everything else you said in this post!!!

Spoolpigeon wrote: Host all local autocross/rallycross/road race events and be one heck of a happy guy.

Please succeed.

Funny, almost everyone says something like "secure your money". Are you doing that now?Im not sure how drastically my life would change to tell the truth. It would be nice to pay off all family debts, but it could just as easily cause more problems than it solves.

Other than a personal jet (which has a small chance of happening yet), I don't know that I'd do things much differently. It would almost be boring and painful (and lonely) being that wealthy.

MA$$hole wrote: 5. Buy the rights to all reality shows and cancel them all.

Thank you! I hope you hit the lottery soon.

Teh E36 M3 wrote: Funny, almost everyone says something like "secure your money". Are you doing that now?Im not sure how drastically my life would change to tell the truth. It would be nice to pay off all family debts, but it could just as easily cause more problems than it solves.

Yes, I am securing my money, and my life would change in that I would be fishing/playing hockey a lot more. Read a lot more. But I would work my hardest to make sure no one (even the family) would know who was paying off their debts.

1. Pay off all debts for me and immediate family.
2. Secure a trust for at least the next to generation of children
3. Donate on a as needed basis to my hometown VFD, Boy Scout troop and council camp, pay off all debts on the church I grew up in and one I attended in TN
4. Establish a not for profit back to work program for soldiers and welfare recipients and home for Adults with Autism
   5 Travel.

Dump the US citizenship and leave North America

Avail myself of one of the Business Jet availability programs that are available.

Fly around planet at will, renting houses or boats and exploring the area until I got bored with the location.

In each location, anonymously select one child that I might bestow enough $$$ to impact the course of his/her life.

Repeat as needed in a new location.

I would never own another house or car in my life.

In reply to Powar:

Pay straight cash for a boxtruck of Kool cigs......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMFJBd40Awo

I'd talk the gov't into selling Grissom AFB to me, standing mile events on the runway, build a "Sebring of the North", and who knows what else......

NOHOME wrote: Dump the US citizenship and leave North America

I don't get this one. It's still the free-est place on the planet, unless you buy your own country, they you're free

Spoolpigeon wrote: 2 chicks at the same time

I saw what you did there... and even read it in that voice...