1/2 a BILLION dollar Lottery...What would you do with the money?

Mega millions hits $500,000,000

For the first time in U.S. lottery history, an estimated jackpot has reached half-a-billion dollars.

Yes, $500,000,000.

The top prize was boosted late this morning, obliterating all previous records.

The cash payout is now a staggering $359 million.

Welcome to jackpot freak-out.

Even major media outlets like Good Morning America were going gaga early today over Mega Millions' annuity rolling over to $476 million, blowing away the old mark of $390 million, set by the game in March 2007.

Now the jackpot is even bigger.

The annuity has now jumped $144 million since Tuesday, crushing the $115 million rise also witnessed in March 2007.

The cash jackpot clobbered its own record, set Monday, by $100 million. The $359 million leaves the next biggest far back in the dust, the $240 million reached by Mega Millions in January last year.
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Wow!!

Half a billion dollars!!! To the average person that is an insane amount of money. Yes I know it is only a drop in the bucket compared to our national debt, I dont want it to be THAT thread.

This is a topic of what would YOU do with the winnings? Firstly, would you take the cash payout or the spread out payments? Why?


As for myself I would take the cash payout (who knows how much longer the dollar will be able to get you anything) then I would get good identity theft protect.I would request that I not be identifed publicly for obvious safety issues. I would give my dad access to the money so that he would no longer have any financial problems. Then I would give my grandma 2 mill and the rest of my aunts and uncles 1 mill a piece. I wouldnt tell any of my friends. I would invite all my friends to a party and not tell them what it was for. The ones that showed up would get a million.

I was watching a TED convention when a presenter showed a water bottle with a filter in it that could provide clean water to a family of five for up to 5 years. I believe I would spend atleast 10 million on those to get them where they are needed. I would probebly spend another few million on local deserving charities. Ofcourse I would build a nice house and have some nice toys. But I would want to focus my attention to investments.

Heres a link to the water bottles I was speaking of. Life Saver Systems


So ATS how about you? What would you do with 1/2 a BILLION dollars!!!

reply to post by Talltexxxan


Well I would take the cash value
and then ask out Jennifer Love Hewitt

first this yacht

Strand Craft 122 super car yacht


than an island to dock it, and that would be all I needed.

what ever was left I would try and start free "education" Centers, don't care who you are, where you are from or what you have or haven't done, would higher top educators to run it.

Basicly start a free private school system, figure thatd be enough to get it set up, and run it as a non-profit.

I'd share it with my friends and family.
Then I'd dish out $1000 to every bum that wasn't an ass.

I'd buy a home in the middle of town and small piece of land in the texas hill country.
I'd buy a pickup truck and not worry about the ridiculous gas prices.

reply to post by rangersdad


Well played

But after you showed her enough money to impress her what are you gonna do with the other 499,999, 980 bucks?

Gotta love JLH

Wow alot of money, By the time i regain conciousness after passing out from winning I reckon you oculd retire on the interest it has gained

The first thing I would do is go to art school... then I would finally take the time to write a book and simply call it "My Struggle"... after that I'd use the money to start a speaking tour... I'd gain the trust of the youth and have them start running for political positions...

I'd employ divide and conquer techniques and eventually take over a small nation... after that I'd invade neighboring countries and provide their downtrodden with "employment opportunities" in "work retreats"...

From there who knows... the sky is the limit...

I've actually thought about this a lot, since having that much money is a huge responsibility in its own right. I would probably take the cash payout for the same reason OP stated. I would invest half of my money in either gold or silver(probably silver). I would also invest in some very isolated land for a doomsday bunker. After that I would just have fun with cars, a house, women, give some to my son. The usual lol

Build animal shelters

Build free art/music schools

Invest in non fossil fuel energy forms

Buy tons of silver and bankrupt JP Morgan

Originally posted by benrl
first this yacht

Strand Craft 122 super car yacht


than an island to dock it, and that would be all I needed.

I think I need to go get a towel after seeing that yacht!!

That thing is a masterpiece!!!

reply to post by Talltexxxan


First things first: Change my name, move away, and go into hiding.

With a record breaking jackpot that big, you'd be famous and have every Tom, Dick, and Harry following you around to find something to sue over. Or 'tripping' on your lawn, 'hurting themselves.' Or causing a wreck that would appear to be your fault, etc. Or, worse- kidnapping your kids, kidnapping you, blackmailing, etc.

So I'd grab my family and haul butt away as quickly as possible. Sad but true.

I have a couple designs for inventions that I'd like to create prototypes for. I'd only market one of them.

I would move to Ghana, Africa. I've never been there before but I'm culturally linked there.

Work to produce self-sufficiency in some African villages.

I would give about a 100 million to family.

Give some charitable donations, probably another 100 million.

Buy a 1967, 1970, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1994 cutlass. Buy a few Aurora's. I'm a Oldsmobile fanatic

Overall, I just want to live modestly, introduce something new to the world, and give most of the money away.

Originally posted by AshleyD
reply to post by Talltexxxan

 

First things first: Change my name, move away, and go into hiding.

With a record breaking jackpot that big, you'd be famous and have every Tom, Dick, and Harry following you around to find something to sue over. Or 'tripping' on your lawn, 'hurting themselves.' Or causing a wreck that would appear to be your fault, etc. Or, worse- kidnapping your kids, kidnapping you, blackmailing, etc.

So I'd grab my family and haul butt away as quickly as possible. Sad but true.

Yeah pretty sad that we live in the world that thinks those kinds of actions are okay. You would have to hire Jonny Cochren to just walk around with you.

1: Give 45% to the government so they can divide it up among crackheads and their 20 kids.
2: Move to Australia.
3: Buy 20,000 acres of land, draw lines across the land to form and "x" and place my home where the lines intersect.
4: Have my zombie apocalypse bunker built, just so I could have one.
5: Sleep as much as I want.
6: Buy a Scottish Fold cat.

Originally posted by Talltexxxan
reply to post by rangersdad

 

Well played

But after you showed her enough money to impress her what are you gonna do with the other 499,999, 980 bucks?

Gotta love JLH

Yes I do love JLH!! I hated it when Ghost Whisperer was cancelled.

But I would also do some good things with it as well. There is a childrens hospital near me that does NOT charge for services to treat kids when they have cancer. Also, there is an organization that helps people out when they are down on their luck...they help them in all ways, food, clothing, vouchers for a room for the night and a meal, etc....

Originally posted by rangersdad
reply to post by Talltexxxan

 

Well I would take the cash value
and then ask out Jennifer Love Hewitt

Hey, you stole my idea. You like the new issue of Maxim also?

Could anyone even spend the cash payout? I think I'd convert it out of dollars as soon as possible, move it offshore and put it into something tangible - metals, real estate. I'd buy ONE Ferrari 458 Italia as my splurge. Definitely a small jet as well so I wouldn't have to go through TSA any more, and make that available to family and friends when they NEED it. I see that as more of a necessity.

Then I'd give away a lot of it to various organizations of my choosing, including several churches (eat it, atheists). I'd pass on anyone who came to me with their hand out.

It''s nice to daydream, but really, you have a better chance of being eaten by a bear and sh*t off a cliff than winning that thing. Imagine all the bad karma you'd be owed if you DID win. Yipes!

reply to post by Talltexxxan


Yeah they make a bigger one that has a retractable pool on the deck, but thats just silly, the 122 footer would be enough...

I saw that boat a long time ago, ever since its been a secret goal of mine, if I ever luck out or become successful on that level thats the one thing I could see spending that kind of money on.

Thats a stupid figure for a top prize.

People dont think about that enough, if you make ONLY 100mil the limit (still pretty damned insane) everyone who gets lesser matches gets more money, for example the other 400m split into 400 x 1 million wins.

More people winning more smaller, but still substantial sums would make more people play in the first place, since the odds of life changing money is far higher.

but noooooooooooo lets all go for the 1 in *insert insane odds here* chance at a stupid sum.

Why is like this, not only do we fall for larger numbers but the chances of that sort of sum actually being won is very low wheres as splitting it up would mean even if only half is won they have half left and why would they do that? Because the interest on 500,000,000 is rather ridiculous, the longer they have it un-won the more they make for themselves.

People lottery's are a such a slap in the face to the people with too big a pair of $.$ for eyes to realise they have 0.000000% chance to win nothing at all, or very very little even if they match most of the numbers.

$500m - pure crazy

What would i do with it?

definitely buy my own island and try do do some good with the rest to be honest.

Originally posted by AwakeinNM

Originally posted by rangersdad
reply to post by Talltexxxan

 

Well I would take the cash value
and then ask out Jennifer Love Hewitt

Hey, you stole my idea. You like the new issue of Maxim also?

Could anyone even spend the cash payout? I think I'd convert it out of dollars as soon as possible, move it offshore and put it into something tangible - metals, real estate. I'd buy ONE Ferrari 458 Italia as my splurge. Definitely a small jet as well so I wouldn't have to go through TSA any more, and make that available to family and friends when they NEED it. I see that as more of a necessity.

Then I'd give away a lot of it to various organizations of my choosing, including several churches (eat it, atheists). I'd pass on anyone who came to me with their hand out.

It''s nice to daydream, but really, you have a better chance of being eaten by a bear and sh*t off a cliff than winning that thing. Imagine all the bad karma you'd be owed if you DID win. Yipes!

edit on 28-3-2012 by AwakeinNM because: (no reason given)

Could anyone spend the entire cash payout? Do you want to meet my ex-wife?? On second thought, Obama spends that every time he signs a bill.....

Originally posted by Talltexxxan

Originally posted by benrl
first this yacht

Strand Craft 122 super car yacht


than an island to dock it, and that would be all I needed.

I think I need to go get a towel after seeing that yacht!!

That thing is a masterpiece!!!

Actually not a bad idea. A seafaring yacht to live on full-time. You'd avoid a lot of taxes that way.

I'm thinking - buy a secure warehouse at your home port and store a sick RV there for land excursions. That would, of course, have an exotic car stuffed inside it as well.