You've just won $50 million in the lottery, what do you do..

[BCEagleAce]

Interested to hear what people would do in a huge life-changing money windfall situation. What would you do? What would you buy? Would you move? Quit your job? Discuss...

[Nechro]

Buy a big house with lots of land and a secure bomb shelter/safe room.
Pay off bills
Pay off parents bills
set aside money for my siblings college fund
Take care of close friends/family
buy new truck/parents new cars
couple 4 wheelers/boat
In the movie Tremors, the gun nut couple, I want a wall of guns like they had

I would quit my job, go on vacation to see all the sites i want to see around the world. Then I would go home and enjoy the rest of my life

[autolex]

Pay off Credit Card
Quit my Job
Finish School
Buy a ridiculously large amount of land
Build a Fortress
Retire.

[bonanacrom]

Disappear !

[Chef]

Day One, 0800 hours: Rent out my favorite local punk rawk dive bar for an all-day invitation-only multi-bill concert.

I'd hire the Supersuckers, Robbie Fulks, Drive By Truckers, and Nashville Pussy to play, and pay enough to pull them off tour if need be. Open bar, FTW.

After I recovered, I'd hire a personal assistant and an R&D team to actualize all the brilliant projects I dream up but am either to busy or too ADD to see through.

Then I'd buy a nice, but relatively modest house with a workshop and rooms for my hobbies, a few other toys, and bank the rest of it and continue with my plans to go back to school. Then when I got out, I'd have more expertise and start-up capital for the Magnum Opus I've been plotting since college.

[TofuBento]

Strippers.

[DFWMTX]

-Pay off my mortgage
-Buy land, begin BOL project

[IceWing]

50 Mill lotto?

I'm going to assume single winner... That means the cash payout is going to be approximately 25 mill, with an after taxes take home of approximately 12 mill.

Ok, so I've got 12 mill in cash.

First, our primary residence. Ballpark of a million five for the land, house and improvements (I'm looking for at least 100 acres, preferred around 30-50 or so from any major city. Hopefully bought in a rural area with little to no property taxes or income tax. Grid tied solar setup, but self sufficient capable, very green (if ever discussed in public, it's for environmental reasons... That's a great cover for efficiency and self-sufficiency..) Property either has access to water via wells, or hopefully some springs and possibly access to a river. New vehicles for me and the wife. House is invisible from nearby roads, even in winter. I'd like to pay for it in cash, but I'd have to talk to my accountant on this... Current debts are paid off (including the house we just purchased and what credit card debts we have). On hand safety net of cash and coin is established as well.

That leaves a little more than 10 million left. This I would invest, widely diversified with an eye towards security for most of it... At most, 5% would be able to be put to things that are higher risk. Minimal drawing on any returns until the value has at least doubled, at which point, I maintain 10 mill in SAFE investments, the rest I can start using to buy additional properties around me, as well as secondary smaller locations scattered geographically (house in Alaska is priority 2).

I would then make writing my career, and spend time traveling with my wife as well.

[airballrad]

Step 1) Call lawyer.
Step 2) Call Accountant.
Step 3) Be unemployed for 3 weeks, drive wife nuts.
Step 4) Buy towing company and sit in Owner's office to get out of the house.
Step 5) On nice weather days, take a truck up and down the highway and rescue people.
Step 6) On bad weather days, see Step 4.

You can see I've thought this through.

[Trent]

1. Convert to Euros.
2. Buy up some nice land in South Dakota.
3. Buy back all the family lands that have been sold over the decades to pay off debts.
4. Two words: Private Island.
5. Subtract $1 million from the account, and stick the rest in a remote and not easily accessible account.
6. Live off that.

[BethDeath]

2 chicks at once.

[BCEagleAce]

FYI - I was assuming $50mil after tax and lump sum penalty cost... here's what I would do:

1) call a tax and/or estate lawyer
2) call an accountant or firm specializing in such windfall matters
3) take a leave of absence from work
4) change my cell/home phone numbers and email address
5) DON'T tell friends and neighbors for as long as possible... just immediate family
6) avoid any major purchases right away... let things sink in and decide with the wife what we are doing from there.

After that, what I'd push for is:

1) I already live in a perfectly fine house, but I may want to move to get some upgrades I don't have. Probably buy on a large piece of land where nobody is around immediately.... the dog can run free, i'd get some four wheelers and snow mobiles, etc. I would also "secure" my house such that I could survive the zombie invasion of course

2) probably buy a vacation house in the islands somewhere... that way i can play golf all year long!

3) i'd have to buy a ferrair or lamborghini... i'd just have to do it!

4) either work part time, or not work at all. I have 2 girls that can keep me busy, and I have a lot of hobbies that I could pursue more fully... for example, I play Hold Em and I could play more seriously, take lessons, etc. I own guns and I could set up a range at home, buy more guns, collect, etc. I build poker tables and I could set up a sweet workshop to build them to sell, give away, etc. I am also into astronomy and I could build my own telescope, do observations, etc.

[BCEagleAce]

2 chicks at once.

+1... oh yea!

[airballrad]

2 chicks at once.

Best. Muvi. Evar.

[spectr3z]

1) Ask family members who are accountants and bank managers for advice and help dealing with the money

2) Buy a new car, and buy/equip a nice not-too-conspicuous BOV

3) Buy some land for a BOL and build a bunker safe from fallout and forced entry somewhere on the land

5) Keep a 5 year supply of food and basic necessities for 10 people in bunker mentioned above

6) Buy a new house in the area I currently live (New York City)

7) Invest 5 Million

Continue my education until I am satisfied.

[ForumCrawler]

1. Put aside enough to pay for highschool and college education for myself and my siblings
2. Buy my parents a house on the water.
3. Upon graduation, pay for any further education I feel like getting.
4. After finding a job I want to do for the rest of my life, purchase a place of my own (No HOAs in the area).
5. Guns, gear, etc.
6. Remote BOL

[Fire Arms]

OMG YOU"VE UNLEASHED MY GREEDY LIL AMBITOUS SELF.

1.Buy some guns
2.pimp out my car
3.Train my own secret paramilitia
4.Turn into a huge mobster(without the drugs though)
5.Buy some poor South American country
6.nuke korea
7.blame it on iran
8. start WWIII

never give me money ;p

[TravisM.1]

Buy land.
Build self-sufficient house.
Build large solid fence around property.
Install surveillance equipment.
Invest the rest.

[CajunHam]

1. Confirm Winnings with the Lottery commission.
2. Take a Vacation with family in RV disappearing into the mists.
3. Pick our some nice homes/locations for bugging out.
4. Get preps while enjoying life.
5. Set up super Ham Station, Radio Free Acadie.
6. Help others.

As far as getting lawyers involved, I had an acquitance win a large sum and the lawyer tried to
set up a trust with the lawyer at the head drawing a fat fee, watch lawyers,
do your own research.

Get two accountants on board but keep a watch over them while doing taxes and setting
up tax minimizers. Have one keep an eye on the other and have audits done by an outsider.

[raptor]

...vomit in disgust while writing a check for approximately $20 million in federal and state income taxes, assuming $50 million is the lump sum payout amount.

[callista]

I can't use all of it. After I have enough to pay for a college education and a small house, the rest gets donated; or maybe I could sponsor some other kids' educations... maybe a boost to educating autistic people, because practically all the government money is going to theoretical research and something like 1% of it to helping actual living autistic people. It could make the difference between an institution and an apartment of your own... or the difference between holding a dead-end job and becoming an engineer. Lots of people are living in "group homes" that don't need to, but there's hardly any "intermittent support" type stuff available, and even fewer resources to teach adults. It's like once your IEP ends at 20 or 21, you're presumed to have learned everything you could possibly ever know. My biggest fear is that when I die I won't have made the world any better for my having been here... that would be too much of a chance to pass up.

[/rant]

But why am I playing the lottery in the first place?

[bae]

Pay the taxes.

Invest the remainder.

Continue on my present course.

[Armed Hippie]

- Pay my debts
- Move somewhere safer
- Take a year of reading books, getting in good shape and finally get my licenses and buy firearms
- Keep studying 1,5 year longer than planned an get a Master of Philosophy
- Pay of the debts of other family members
- Buy a new computer

After that, well, no idea really.

[ironraven]

Buy new car.
Pay off college loans.
Find a good house on good land.
Make sure the local gun shops remember my name.
Set up a small scale farm.
Become one of those guys who goes to town once a week, or ten days.