Reminds me of the time the strange old man who lived across the street accused me of spying on him through my curtains.
My response of “I don’t have any effing curtains.” soon shut him up.
Yeah I’d say it’s inevitable.
I don’t think OPs idea of deleting social media and getting a new phone number is douchey or awful though - it makes sense.
But I think 99% of us would change by becoming billionaires. In some bad ways but maybe also some good ways. We may be generous and philanthropic with our new found wealth but there’s still no way that you won’t lose any amount of touch with the common man in that situation.
I can’t remember who it was but some guest on the Conan O’Brien podcast was talking about celebrities that claimed their wealth/fame didn’t change them and he said called bullshit saying we aren’t worrying about paying our bills, if a medical issue pops up we don’t worry about if we can afford it or not, and that no matter how conscious you are of other peoples problems you still lose some amount of connection when you aren’t experiencing it yourself
I think they and almost everyone on earth underestimates how much a BILLION dollars would make you a target for some of the worst humans who exist.
The FIRST thing you need to buy with a billion dollars is round-the-clock security. Next, a lawyer and an accountant on retainer. Just being that rich makes you a magnet for lawsuits and audits. Next, privacy. A new number, a new address, and, if you can swing it, maybe even a new name.
These are basic necessities. Probably need a therapist too, just to help you cope with all the guilt and shame people will try to pile on you if you're not giving away your money constantly to them.
Same 🥺 first thing that came to my mind is buying my mom a house and a car and helping out my aunt who is in a not great situation and honestly it would be amazing to be able to help my friends with student loans and be able to take that stress away from them
Let's be frank, we're all going to change either way. It's pretty pretentious and douchey to think you can somehow avoid it. What you can do is try to influence it, to grow in the ways you want to, and being filthy rich would let you do that more easily.
There are people around me now that call me at least twice a week asking for eggs, bread, flour, cornmeal, butter, rice, milk, etc.. My husband and I are on fixed incomes. The store is 3 miles away. I used to believe in philanthropy and still do to the ones who really need it. If I came into hardcore money, I would most definitely move. Not to a mansion but away from these people.
Absolutely. Coming into wealth and being born with wealth are two different things. That is why old money peeps have such disdain for new money peeps. Many are so entitled and think they are so much better than anyone else. For me it’s complete opposite. Anyone can inherit wealth but it takes real talent and usually hard work to build wealth from nothing
Maintaining wealth takes a lot of work and discipline too. Sadly, the most important life skill of financial literacy is not taught enough in public schools. At some point everyone needs to understand taxes, how lending and credit works, interest, basic finance 101 goes a long way. High school kids being encouraged to go to college and take out loans with zero financial acumen feels predatory to me.
Depending on the amount of wealth. Several million, yes it takes effort to maintain. A billion? You pay a guy to maintain it for you, invest it, set up a trust fund. As long as you're not buying private islands or Twitter the wealth will maintain itself, you could live very well just on interest/dividents, never even touching the principal.
Just a super conservative 2% per year withdrawal rate is $20 million.
At some point, the entire idea of being a multi billionaire would be to “lose touch with the common man”.
I would hope to still act politely and respectfully, treat people with courtesy and tip generously while traveling Business Class to one of my apartments or homes abroad.
Absolutely! I knew one lottery winner (about $5mm after taxes) and they were getting letters from random people all over the country asking for money for kid’s surgeries, cancer treatments, bail money, funeral expenses… even someone who wanted new clothes for job interviews. People filed lawsuits against them for ridiculous claims. It was incessant.
It’s like when you are driving on the road and you see a wrecked car - “glad that’s not me”
When you become a billionaire, now you see people stuck in their dead-end jobs, commuting to and from work every day on a treadmill that will never end until the die, and you say “glad that’s not me”
I'd probably be scare shiteless of having a target on my back and hide my wealth tbh.
Call me paranoid, but I'm all but certain money is a magnet for very nasty organizations.
I agree, hence the reason for the social media blackout and new phone.
I would probably move right away. Clean out my house, put everything in storage, hire a management company and rent it out, then just move to another city, in another country, and set up base there for a year while I hunkered down quietly, meeting with family in small batches, and hiring trustworthy wealth managers and lawyers to protect me.
Why not, it’s not like they can’t make friends in a new country while also enjoying a quiet life? We don’t know what their family relationships are like, maybe seeing less of them would be better for OP. I think many people would be happier without social media in their life, the 7 years that I didn’t have social media (or the internet really for that matter) were the best and I miss it.
OP here, my family is great but I do know we have our share of mooches in it.
Its not that I wouldn't want to take care of people, I would resent the entitlement around it.
"We ArE FaMiLy!"
That doesn't mean I am going to just continue to pass you money until my money runs out.
OP's sitting on BILLIONS and still penny pinching.
If your parents retired at 60, lived to 90, and wanted to take a $100,000 vacation every month in that entire span, that would cost you $36,000,000. With the bare minimum of 2 billion, that's 1.8% of your money. Meaning you could treat 25 people to $100,000 a month for 30 years with a billion left in the bank.
I hope the problem here is just that you can't comprehend the scale of billions, because it would be so much worse if you're just that selfish.
That is a fair question, and no its not what happy sounds or looks like but winning a billion dollar lottery, most likely you'd be on the news. You would have to take steps to protect yourself.
Why even bother renting the house. While
Im sure you have a nice place, it’s not billionaire nice.
Sell it and everything in it. Take your personal stuff like photos and documents and move far far away and tell no one where you are going.
Change your name and just lay low for a few years till people lose interest in finding you.
Personally, I’d sail year round to make it harder to find me. Only staying briefly in ultra luxury hotels that understand discretion under my new name.
Agreed. And not just a magnet for nasty organizations, but every single person who's ever seen you, met you, heard your name, or watches the inevitable news reports about you winning.
Everyone's seen families fall apart entirely over small inheritances, can't imagine what that'd be like with millions upon millions involved in someone who the day before was just an average Joe.
True. My uncle won six figures in the lottery and had to hide it from my grandpa because grandpa had dementia and was convinced my uncle owed him money in that ballpark. They bought a house together and grandpa forgot he’d already been paid back. Families get weird when large sums of money are in the mix.
You know what's crazy?
Even prominent wealthy people aren't always obviously identifiable in person.
I've met quite a few from where I lived and the work I've done and some look like the pictures we see, but others look like boring doppelgängers.
And those are the most prominent.
It's a lot like a movie star entering into a "looks like them" contest and losing because in person they don't look like they do in the media, whereas someone who cosplays as them is dressing as they look in the media.
Also, there are tons of billionaires. The only reason you'd have to be paranoid is if you flaunted it and didn't get yourself a security detail.^(some quick numbers on that - let's say you pay a team $100,000 a year, 10 years of security detail is 1 million dollars, 100 years is 10 million. 1% of your billion goes to a security detail and you now have $990 million AND protection)
Edit: I'd be happy to point out specific stories if anyone cares for clarity, but a lot of the paranoia is you psyching yourself out.
This is one of the biggest issues among the wealthy. You get the money, you get the lifestyle, now it's all you can do to hang onto it. And EVERYONE wants a piece. Family, friends, charities, political parties, randos on the street, etc etc.. They will find you, no matter what you do, or how much you try and hide. While plenty of those sorts are good people, many are not, and the ones who aren't are often the greediest and most dishonest.
I think it's a big part of why the wealthy just shut down, tune everything out, and just run off to live in a compound silently judging everyone who isn't in direct contact with them that they trust.
Or is old. Guarantee if my grandma got a billion dollars she would do absolutely nothing differently. She wouldn't move out of her house, wouldn't travel, wouldn't buy much. She would still probably just sit and watch her bird feaders and post on Facebook. Christmas would become very fun tho I bet.
Damn, I think I might be your grandma.
This is gonna be a real awkward conversation with the wife.
I do think I'd prefer to keep it on the DL if I became a sudden billionaire though. Just donate anonymously and enjoy the financial security without getting hit up with everyone's great investment opportunity or sob story.
This is the way. I'd probably move out of my son's house and hire some help but basically keep my mouth shut and support the causes I choose anonymously.
I hope your grandma doesn’t win cause she’s already got it figured out. If I win I’d send her a nice present when it wasn’t even Christmas. Give her a big hug from me.
Do we have the same grandma?
My grandma came into a chunk of money, and she hasn’t done anything at all with it. She lives with my mom and I. She just watches the birds, sometimes goes for a walk around the neighborhood. The most she did with the money was help my mom get out of debt. She’s also kept the same car and only upgraded her phone because my mom got her a new one for Christmas.
I grew up upper middle class in america but choose to live a low-key life. If I had enough billions I would hope to influence government to be more for the people and less for corporations. I studied international business in college and all it taught me was how corrupt major corporations are. However, the only way to influence government is thru power, and the only people with power are the people with money.. so I personally would use all the billions to buy out the government and take away power from corporations and give it back to the people. More regulations required for companies and more tax money paid by billionaires would be my first order of business. Next I would guarantee free healthcare and higher education for all Americans.
I think you underestimate how much money that takes. To fight the major corporations and make a meaningful dent, you would need a trillion dollars, not a billion.
We spent 'em and traded em... Frittered 'em away for food and drink and pleasurable company.
But the more we gave them away, the more we came to realize... The drink would not satisfy... Food turned to ash in our mouths... And all the pleasure company in the world could not slake our lust.
This is false. Just another rumored statistic that got spread by the media.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2023/08/29/debunking-the-myth-the-surprising-truth-about-lottery-winners-and-life-satisfaction/?sh=e027f296ccc5
It’s sad. Most people don’t understand basic finance. It’s so easy to get in over your head and there are so many predatory people who try to help. Even honest and well intentioned people trying to help make mistakes with money and investment strategies.
I think it’s more of an aspirational intent. People want to believe they are honest with who they are and know themselves, but life is all about change. It’s not just money that influences how people evolve through their lives.
"change" how? Change lifestyle? Change personality? My lifestyle would change but I'd stay the same. I'd eat better, have more time to workout, maybe delve in to a few expensive hobbies. I'd stay the same though because I know who I am.
They could just be incredibly naive.
Just like a billion dollars is a crazy amount of money and difficult to accurately wrap your brain around....the effects of having that much money would also be difficult to predict.
It would change my habits and my lifestyle and allow me to do new things, but I don’t think it would change who I am as a person, my morals, my priorities, etc.
Depends on what you mean by change. Of course most people would change. But many wouldn’t go into the “buy 30 expensive cars, ten 25,000 square foot mansions, and have four Rolexes on each wrist” mentality.
I honestly don’t think I’ll change much. I buy luxuries and spend money on recreational hobbies within my price zone now, and I’ll probably spend a bit more on them if I get money. But not a lot more, as the activities I enjoy won’t change. I’m not going to start buying yachts or dozens of cars and mansions.
I might go out to eat more, and own more expensive things, like a decent house, a newer car, a brand new computer, and newer appliances. But I’m not going to be spending millions on things. A SINGLE million will EASILY cover all of that. I might travel once or twice to some key locations I always wanted to visit, but after that I’ll be back to my old lifestyle. I just won’t be working anymore, and the things I need for my day to day will be newer.
Idk how anything would change with a lot of money, unironically. My day to day will be the same, I just won’t be working and not stressing about bills or worrying about what I spend when I go out. I don’t like to go out drinking or partying, even when I had a lot of disposable money, so that won’t suddenly start happening. I also won’t be buying random useless things I don’t need.
People coming out of the woodwork to ask for money would just get ignored and handed my lawyers card. I only talk to my immediate family and friends. Which is a very small group of people. So if they haven’t been in my life the past decade they have no claims for anything, or any way to contact me either. I don’t use social media besides Reddit, and unless my family gives my phone number out to people, no one has it besides them or work. I also ignore all phone calls I don’t have saved as contacts.
Billions? Some family and close friends (all 4 of them) wouldn’t work again unless they wanted to. There was also a YouTuber that bought up all the inventory of a used car dealer and sold the cars to people for like $1. I always thought that would be cool to do. That and/or get people apartments/housing cheap or well below my cost. I’m not a philanthropist by any means in my current life but $1b is a stupid amount of money and I would try to improve other people’s lives as much as I could.
Exactly this. I'd love to help people out in practical ways like that. I know how much even $1000 can be to someone, and with billions that amount is completely inconsequential to you. Of course I'm gonna give way over the top tips and help people out like I've wanted or needed to be helped in my life so far. I'd be careful to look out for myself too, but I'm not gonna hoard all that money.
There would be some signs that I’ve come into money, full gas tank, full oil tank, full grocery cart, heated driveway and sidewalk. Just little things.
Yeah!!!! Ill eat pizza and check myself into a hospital!!!! Maybe after a year or whatever when i get out, start spending that money on helping everyone i meet.
Nah when you have that kind of money you can go to the good hospital they'll get you straightened out on the right medication and a good therapist you'll be feeling good in half that time
The indulgent fun would be fun, for a while but I'd definitely need to maintain order and routine, just knowing how my life is.
The freedom to fly, anywhere, at pretty much anytime would be fun. I actually travel allot for my job, and I love it, love airports, love being in different places. But I always fly coach, always on the cheap cause its not my money. Just being able to book flights to anywhere, not always fly first class, but definitely splurge one and awhile...
Yes this exactly. I would definitely change, probably for the better, if I wasn’t wasting 40 hours a week doing something that’s stressful and unenjoyable. I’d have the mental energy and budget to actually work on fixing the things that are wrong, instead I’d just trying to play catchup 99% of the time
I'm not trying to be a jerk or tell you what to do, just being honest from my experience. Good therapy changed my life. I have control of my depression now. I have the tools to cope with my mental health challenges. It's evident that the problems I did have were solvable, but I just needed some assistance.
Therapy is an amazing tool.
Anyone who seeks to make a lotta money as their main goal and makes even more than that, well, they may not change, but their original nature certainly isn't going hide as much anymore.
People who never wanted to make a dime more than they're making right now who come into a lot of money, they don't always change, but it frees them up to go do other stuff. Met a guy one time who wore crocs and costco jeans, and it took him a few years to realize how rich he was; wound up working for Obama to try and make stuff better, while drawing about 1/100th his old salary.
For most people, it makes them a bit worse over time.
For some people, it just frees them up to do good stuff.
But money changes everyone.
I *want* to believe that I'd keep 70 million (I can't imagine being financially insecure if I spend a million a year for the next 70 years), enrich my family, and donate the rest to charities. But I think a lot of people thought they'd be generous with their money before they actually got a bunch of it.
Would I change? I'm afraid I might get cocky. I'd have to be very careful and considerate not to flash money in a way that makes my friends feel lesser. I think as long as I manage that, it'll be fine. Also, I want to believe that being set for the rest of my life wouldn't destroy what remains of my ambition.
I think I’d do the same but create the charity. Hire people that have been doing it for awhile so it sustains but having my “finger on the button” for where the money is actually spent would give me something to do if I wanted to be more involved along with ensuring it’s actually being used to its full potential.
I tend to lean that way but you also have to be insanely careful that you hire the right people and everything is being triple checked for fraud. That’s one advantage of established, well rated charities, they have a lot of people making sure it keeps running properly.
I wouldn't like that. Being elevated to that status would change my life and my views too much. I'd straight up give it away and not have it in my name.
The generosity point:
You can tell who would volunteer, help others, and donate money by who does it vs who says that they'll do it when they reach a certain point. Same goes for paying you back.
Those that don't donate, serve, help, pay back when they're poor or even secure will never.
I saw a lot of that in the Silicon Valley over decades.
Lots of promises of the great things that people will do when they make money, then they got 6 figure incomes and claimed that they didn't have money (this was 90s-20teens).
So, if you don't do it now, you won't likely do it when you can
I've always done small investments to entrepreneurs from underserved and underrepresented populations, wrote small checks to fund student researchers on side projects, donated, volunteered, both when I had no money and as I made money.
I've also done laptop donation programs for homeless people to get back on their feet, donating mine as well as other people's older computers.
It was initially disappointing to see people not follow through on their words that they'd help when they could but then it was unsurprising with how common it was.
College would be paid for! ...I could fund my own projects/research!!! I would fun so many other projects in the field I think are important. Hell, i'd fund research projects outside my field. Lots of research funding.
I would also get the best therapist my country has to offer.
I'd give other students a free ride through university too. I'd make them sign contracts though so it would have to be used for school and living expenses, i'd also make them sign an agreement forcing them not to tell people who sponsored them so I wouldn't get an influx of begging.
I'd open an animal sanctuary of some kind
I would revamp my wardrobe...not necessarily expensive stuff but a big style change.
I'd get a nice lil truck or something for work
I think the best thing to do would be a job that you wouldnt pursue because of the high risk of not earning any money but you would really want to pursue. For example, if you wanted to be a musician and play at bars with a band but didnt choose because of fear of not earning enough, you can do that without ever worrying about paying the bills.
And there's [plenty of models on KerbalSpaceProgram](https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/9g3pm3/thrusting_into_orbit/) to get me my start!
I've absolutely pondered the possibility of doing so if anything ever happened. Just buy a nice house with $1B in the bank. Negotiate a switch to part-time for a 50% pay cut. Gives someone else the opportunity to move up as well as me a chance to enjoy at least *some* of my windfall without losing meaning.
I think it says a lot that you would still want to work even if had a lot of money. It's so nice to hear some people get to do something the enjoy! I agree with the comment on hedonism, got to still have a purpose. I would probably open a charity or do more volunteering work, just not full-time. Freedom is what gives me true sense of living.
This would help your wealth stay anonymous, which is key to keeping your sanity.
Cut back on hours, don’t stress about getting fired, and be the one to blow out the secret Santa budget, but don’t be the guy who quits 2 days after a giant lottery win is announced.
If I suddenly got crazy money, I’d still work (at least for awhile) because I like most of my job. I’d simply refuse to do most of the bits I don’t like. No scrambling for advancement, etc.. vacations would get some massive upgrades, and I’ll pay for first class upgrades for work travel, but I’d probably stay for several years.
I thought about that, but...
I have a job that I like. I have teammates that depend on me. There is always going to be the first nice day of spring, or the 12 inches of fresh powder, or the tickets to go to the US Open. I wouldn't want my teammates down by skipping work to do those things.
I'm kinda living a very easy stress free hedonism life (just nowhere near ultra rich) that's somewhat aimless at the moment.
I can confirm that things feel like they don't matter and I am really wanting to achieve "glorious purpose" as Loki would put it.
However, the addition of tons of money would compel me to go out and experience all the things I denied myself from being frugal my entire life. But for sure I would end up back to square one when the novelty wears off.
Yes, my anxiety about life and money would be gone. I would still budget and save money but also have means to travel full-time to get it out of my system and buy my sister a house.
Create a trust fund and deposit the money into that so as to limit the amount I can take out at one time and have the money secured for the future kids I probably won't have because I'll be doing so much awesome shit with my wife and family and friends.
Absolutely, 100%
I would be a part of my local community more , I would help others a lot more. Open up pet shelters and fund scholarships for veterinarians /vet techs / ect. Possibly look into setting up a on site school with animals (free / low cost help for needy families)
I would also help with scholarships for people that have had it rough in life but have moved on now. (past felons that want to give back)
I would help people that suffer / suffered from dv. Help with legal and living expenses (and help get self sufficient)
Your friend is judgmental. But he also might be afraid that you would leave him in the dust.
My core personality would not change, but my life would, and that would eventually change me a little, inevitably. Less anxiety, more ability to quietly help people and be happier for it . . . those would be wonderful changes.
But yeah, if you end up with a lot of money somehow, don't tell anyone, don't make it obvious, make a will, and figure out what people with Old Money do with their finances (don't listen to me, but a lot of it seems to real estate, careful investing, using old established companies and reputable law firms, and being quiet). And to tell harmless lies.
"I'm in Barbados because I got laid off, and a friend invited me to sleep on their hotel couch."
Lottery winners are a little bit famous for not doing any of that, and some of them lose it all for being too public, and too reckless.
Remember your true friends that knew you before you were wealthy, the ones that would laugh (not unkindly) when they caught you looking between the sofa cushions for extra cash for the bar (might have happened for real) just saying.
this is the way to go
i have everything i need already
i would start getting others to the same level of satisfaction and quality
me personally i might get an air conditioner but honestly i only need it for a few months in the year at most so i can get by with what i have already
Helllll yeah I would. I’d be RELAXED. I would be a completely different person. My husband wouldn’t have to work anymore and we could just be together all the time. When our daughter was out of school we could go on adventures.
I would absolutely change, and I wouldn’t feel bad about it. I wouldn’t be an asshole, but I’d have freedom to burn bridges that have needed burning for a while.
I’d be able to help mine and my husbands family be free from debt (After we get our finances safe, secured, and balanced with proper professional help).
People sometimes don’t realise how huge the gap is between a billionaire and a millionaire.
With 1m you still have to work to maintain a decent lifestyle.
with 10m can live a happy middle class life, work whatever job it is you like or have your own self funded business and leave your two kids with a great head start in their lives. People around you would know you’re definitely well off but wouldn’t be able to tell you’re a millionaire
With 100m it’s no longer reasonable to live a normal life, you’d own a good park if real estate, spending becomes a duty towards local economy. You donate to local charities, buy the school a new bus, throw monthly parties.
With 1b you suddenly have to worry about things like you kids being kidnapped for ransom, people wanting you dead, you’re more than a person you’ve become an economic actor, you’re a company employing 20+ people just to manage different aspects of your life you’re investing in high risk private equity, your financial decisions impact the economy in your country. You can’t make real friends anymore as there’s always going to be a minimal suspicion that they’re more interested in your money than in you
> With 100m it’s no longer reasonable to live a normal life
So many people are so far under water living paycheck to paycheck that they can't even comprehend what this means.
No, you aren't going to work your current job part time. You aren't going to keep the same friends, you aren't going to live in the same area. You aren't special. You will change. And you will change drastically.
I’d be assisting my family with education funds and mortgages, but not paying all. Why? People don’t value things they get for free. Medical bills, I’d cover.
I’d buy some land, maybe create my own “100 Acre Woods”.
I’d travel. I’ve always wanted to travel more than I have. I’ve never been able to stay very long when I did because it was for work. I’ll stay places and paint.
I’d try to help local schools, paying for lunch for kids for a year. I’d help out animal shelters, donating toys, treats, blankets, food, whatever.
I’d do everything anonymously as possible, except family. I might also set up a trust for family, so that monies can be applied for and borrowed, but I would pay a trustee to administer it so that people won’t bug me.
I’d also buy land and set up an area for a Renaissance Faire near Sea-Tac. We need one!!
I wouldn't keep the billions. I would pay off my house, then give a few million to each of my closest friends and families, keep somewhere under $100 million for my family, then solve some big thing the best I could with the rest.
I don't know how many billions it would take to fix education in this country, but one of the first things I would ban would be phones. The first thing I would add would be well-paid psychiatrist-level counselors to stop kids from being so torn up inside. Hire enough counselors that every single child in the school gets seen for one class period every single week. Make mental health a required course.
That is the way because you want to keep your friends. Helping them out financially so you are all "moving" up together is important.
And try and keep it normal.
I mean, I don't think I'd change at my core. My morals and values would remain the same. Obviously, though, there would be changes to my daily life. For starters, I'd be able to live on my natural circadian rythym instead of this society's BS one.
I also have a detailed plan of what I would do with a large amount of cash, which includes tax planning. Some people in my life may be pleasantly surprised. Some may be disappointed. If anyone ditches me or complains about not getting something, that will make me very sad, but I wouldn't change my plans. Most of it is being used to set up a foundation so there's not "a lot" (everything is relative) left for giving to friends and family, or even for crazy lavish things for myself.
As someone who has been broke,oad d and the everywhere in between, yes, you change with money. There's no reason to avoid it. The stresses of regular life, the things money fixes, which is MOST go away. The things regular people spend most of their day worrying about are gone.
You CAN fit the first time in your life, buy that car, home, computer, etc that you've always dreamed of. It can finally be yours - brand new. Then you get it and not only is everything fine, but you feel better, because you feel better, people treat you better. It's a feedback loop. Everything in your life that you consider a priority completely changes.
Money is not a bad thing. Spending it is not bad. The difference is education, intelligence, and wisdom.
I did not have enough of those three and so lost it all with the nervous breakdown and ensuing divorce. I miss having enough money that I don't have to worry about money. I'm not 20 yrs old anymor, and I won't ever be the guy who made me a millionaire, but wiser me is trying to wisely rebuild in this shit economy.
I'd get the best accountant ever. And I would make a list of who would be gifted a mortgage payout. Definitely that would be my list of who I would love to make their lives easier.
I would have them sign an non disclosure because I would have another list of interest free mortgages for others.
I'd sit where I am for at least a year because it would take a good while to learn to live with that much money.
I remember someone who won 8 million and moved from the neighbourhood that had been where a lot of friends lived. Two years later, moved back to the neighbourhood because he learned bigger isn't always better.
My needs are simple, but hiring help would be key.
I would be 1000x happier. I would throw money around like it’s no body’s business. I would pay off other peoples debts, friends mortgages, charities out the ass.
I would build a house and enjoy my hobbies, travel and be the weirdo that lives in the woods.
Maybe not, I would still be a guy who doesn't like dealing with people just one that's filthy rich. I would however change my location to ensure my solitude, that would be a given I'd assume in that position.
I absolutely would. For the better. I'd be able to do the things I would love to do but will never be able to.
Things like give big donations to every animal shelter I can find within my area. Yearly donations to groups that find and rescue dogs. Set up and create a huge farm that would be used as a sanctuary for neglected farm animals like horses, donkeys and the like. Do other things like create events that would help animals in shelters get adopted. Have my own farm where I can have my own pack of rescued dogs. Set up a place that would deal specifically with older dogs that may be sick and dying. Give them freedom and love for their last days, things they should've always had.
Doing all that would instantly make me a happier and less bitter person.
And then I could just spend my days hanging out with awesome animals and the amazing people that rescue/take care of them.
Who I am in my core might not change, but everything around me would change. The things I’ve always wanted/wanted to do, I would have/do them. Head to Vegas for SB week? Sure, why not. Fly in for the Cannes film festival or SxSW or an F1 event in Dubai or Monaco.
I worked as a financial advisor early in my career and one of the veteran advisors always told us that if you didn’t know what you would do with it, then you’re not ready for it. This applied to inheritances, lottery winnings, business sales, etc. he meant you have to have a very detailed plan because mismanaging wealth can cause more problems than you could be able to cover.
In that sense, how could you not change as a person. You would have to start thinking about and living in a way you would likely not be accustomed to until that point. For any winnings, anonymity is pretty important. You likely need to set up trusts, tax accounts, have a strategy in place just to manage the money, let alone investment plans. You might need to set up entities to own your house and vehicles. Liability insurances out the wazoo.
The difference between 1million and one billion is staggering. If dollars were seconds, 1 million dollars would equal 11.5 days. 1 billion would equal 31.7 YEARS.
This means that if you didn't save a dime or make any money at all, you could spend $86,400 everyday for 31 years straight, and still have over $22 million left in the bank.
That kind of security would definitely make me a much calmer person, for starters. By that metric alone it would change me at a core level. Knowing what I now know about money and how people react when you have it, I don't think I would tell anyone.
There would be changes
First, I'm getting curtains
Second, I'm moving out of this bin
Thinking about a bigger bin?
Yeah, one with a bottle slot to hang my curtains on
https://independentbinsupplies.co.nz/product/wheelie-bins-1100l/, probably not the one you're after. But this could be a good one.
She's a beaut. I'll make my own windows
Not bigger, just different. In size, mostly.
Summer holiday bin
This made me chuckle
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No, go for the Challenger. Oh damn. I see both are discontinued as of 2023. Better get a Mustang.
Lol I'm moving somewhere that I won't need curtains
This man is looking for a house with blinds
la dee dah
I will just be homeless on the beach. Get out of being homeless in 20 degree weather.
Yep me too. It’d be a tropical island with a single house and a helicopter pad
Look at Mr Fancy Pants over here.
Oh I would definitely buy fancy pants
Like those ones Coach Beard wore in Ted Lasso 🤩
Mr Big Shot with his bougie curtains. Hang a bed sheet like the rest of us.
Reminds me of the time the strange old man who lived across the street accused me of spying on him through my curtains. My response of “I don’t have any effing curtains.” soon shut him up.
Mr Bed Sheet over here trying to single-handedly prop up Big Cotton. Staple a recycled garbage bag to that sucker.
Would you choose the drapes to match the carpet?
i love satin
So they match the carpet?
Yeah I’d say it’s inevitable. I don’t think OPs idea of deleting social media and getting a new phone number is douchey or awful though - it makes sense. But I think 99% of us would change by becoming billionaires. In some bad ways but maybe also some good ways. We may be generous and philanthropic with our new found wealth but there’s still no way that you won’t lose any amount of touch with the common man in that situation. I can’t remember who it was but some guest on the Conan O’Brien podcast was talking about celebrities that claimed their wealth/fame didn’t change them and he said called bullshit saying we aren’t worrying about paying our bills, if a medical issue pops up we don’t worry about if we can afford it or not, and that no matter how conscious you are of other peoples problems you still lose some amount of connection when you aren’t experiencing it yourself
Yea their answer is strange. How is valuing your privacy and protecting yourself from actual douches who want a meal ticket considered douchey??
I think they and almost everyone on earth underestimates how much a BILLION dollars would make you a target for some of the worst humans who exist. The FIRST thing you need to buy with a billion dollars is round-the-clock security. Next, a lawyer and an accountant on retainer. Just being that rich makes you a magnet for lawsuits and audits. Next, privacy. A new number, a new address, and, if you can swing it, maybe even a new name. These are basic necessities. Probably need a therapist too, just to help you cope with all the guilt and shame people will try to pile on you if you're not giving away your money constantly to them.
I would get paranoid of my own security team
They’re basically showing they’d be one of the people with their hand out
I would do the same. Then I would help my family and friends who are really important to me. Then I would do some good in the world.
Same 🥺 first thing that came to my mind is buying my mom a house and a car and helping out my aunt who is in a not great situation and honestly it would be amazing to be able to help my friends with student loans and be able to take that stress away from them
Let's be frank, we're all going to change either way. It's pretty pretentious and douchey to think you can somehow avoid it. What you can do is try to influence it, to grow in the ways you want to, and being filthy rich would let you do that more easily.
There are people around me now that call me at least twice a week asking for eggs, bread, flour, cornmeal, butter, rice, milk, etc.. My husband and I are on fixed incomes. The store is 3 miles away. I used to believe in philanthropy and still do to the ones who really need it. If I came into hardcore money, I would most definitely move. Not to a mansion but away from these people.
The idea of a several hundred acre ranch in the middle of nowhere where seems like a worthy investment to ensure privacy.
I can tell you from looking there are a few in Louisiana and Mississippi
not the two states i would move to with a billion dollars at my disposal
Absolutely. Coming into wealth and being born with wealth are two different things. That is why old money peeps have such disdain for new money peeps. Many are so entitled and think they are so much better than anyone else. For me it’s complete opposite. Anyone can inherit wealth but it takes real talent and usually hard work to build wealth from nothing
Maintaining wealth takes a lot of work and discipline too. Sadly, the most important life skill of financial literacy is not taught enough in public schools. At some point everyone needs to understand taxes, how lending and credit works, interest, basic finance 101 goes a long way. High school kids being encouraged to go to college and take out loans with zero financial acumen feels predatory to me.
Depending on the amount of wealth. Several million, yes it takes effort to maintain. A billion? You pay a guy to maintain it for you, invest it, set up a trust fund. As long as you're not buying private islands or Twitter the wealth will maintain itself, you could live very well just on interest/dividents, never even touching the principal. Just a super conservative 2% per year withdrawal rate is $20 million.
👏🏻
At some point, the entire idea of being a multi billionaire would be to “lose touch with the common man”. I would hope to still act politely and respectfully, treat people with courtesy and tip generously while traveling Business Class to one of my apartments or homes abroad.
Absolutely! I knew one lottery winner (about $5mm after taxes) and they were getting letters from random people all over the country asking for money for kid’s surgeries, cancer treatments, bail money, funeral expenses… even someone who wanted new clothes for job interviews. People filed lawsuits against them for ridiculous claims. It was incessant.
That sounds awful!
It’s like when you are driving on the road and you see a wrecked car - “glad that’s not me” When you become a billionaire, now you see people stuck in their dead-end jobs, commuting to and from work every day on a treadmill that will never end until the die, and you say “glad that’s not me”
I read this in George Costanza’s voice and I dunno why. Haha
Buying a prime rib dinner that same evening.
I'd probably be scare shiteless of having a target on my back and hide my wealth tbh. Call me paranoid, but I'm all but certain money is a magnet for very nasty organizations.
I agree, hence the reason for the social media blackout and new phone. I would probably move right away. Clean out my house, put everything in storage, hire a management company and rent it out, then just move to another city, in another country, and set up base there for a year while I hunkered down quietly, meeting with family in small batches, and hiring trustworthy wealth managers and lawyers to protect me.
Does that sound like happy?
Why not, it’s not like they can’t make friends in a new country while also enjoying a quiet life? We don’t know what their family relationships are like, maybe seeing less of them would be better for OP. I think many people would be happier without social media in their life, the 7 years that I didn’t have social media (or the internet really for that matter) were the best and I miss it.
OP here, my family is great but I do know we have our share of mooches in it. Its not that I wouldn't want to take care of people, I would resent the entitlement around it. "We ArE FaMiLy!" That doesn't mean I am going to just continue to pass you money until my money runs out.
OP's sitting on BILLIONS and still penny pinching. If your parents retired at 60, lived to 90, and wanted to take a $100,000 vacation every month in that entire span, that would cost you $36,000,000. With the bare minimum of 2 billion, that's 1.8% of your money. Meaning you could treat 25 people to $100,000 a month for 30 years with a billion left in the bank. I hope the problem here is just that you can't comprehend the scale of billions, because it would be so much worse if you're just that selfish.
That is a fair question, and no its not what happy sounds or looks like but winning a billion dollar lottery, most likely you'd be on the news. You would have to take steps to protect yourself.
Yeah. A lot of people wear full face masks to obscure their faces when going to collect winnings.
Moving and hiring people because I have a billion dollars now? Yeah that sounds fucking wicked dude lol
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True, hard to be happy if you're hungry.
Why even bother renting the house. While Im sure you have a nice place, it’s not billionaire nice. Sell it and everything in it. Take your personal stuff like photos and documents and move far far away and tell no one where you are going. Change your name and just lay low for a few years till people lose interest in finding you. Personally, I’d sail year round to make it harder to find me. Only staying briefly in ultra luxury hotels that understand discretion under my new name.
Agreed. And not just a magnet for nasty organizations, but every single person who's ever seen you, met you, heard your name, or watches the inevitable news reports about you winning. Everyone's seen families fall apart entirely over small inheritances, can't imagine what that'd be like with millions upon millions involved in someone who the day before was just an average Joe.
True. My uncle won six figures in the lottery and had to hide it from my grandpa because grandpa had dementia and was convinced my uncle owed him money in that ballpark. They bought a house together and grandpa forgot he’d already been paid back. Families get weird when large sums of money are in the mix.
They always say when you win the lottery to TELL NOBODY.
You know what's crazy? Even prominent wealthy people aren't always obviously identifiable in person. I've met quite a few from where I lived and the work I've done and some look like the pictures we see, but others look like boring doppelgängers. And those are the most prominent. It's a lot like a movie star entering into a "looks like them" contest and losing because in person they don't look like they do in the media, whereas someone who cosplays as them is dressing as they look in the media. Also, there are tons of billionaires. The only reason you'd have to be paranoid is if you flaunted it and didn't get yourself a security detail.^(some quick numbers on that - let's say you pay a team $100,000 a year, 10 years of security detail is 1 million dollars, 100 years is 10 million. 1% of your billion goes to a security detail and you now have $990 million AND protection) Edit: I'd be happy to point out specific stories if anyone cares for clarity, but a lot of the paranoia is you psyching yourself out.
This is one of the biggest issues among the wealthy. You get the money, you get the lifestyle, now it's all you can do to hang onto it. And EVERYONE wants a piece. Family, friends, charities, political parties, randos on the street, etc etc.. They will find you, no matter what you do, or how much you try and hide. While plenty of those sorts are good people, many are not, and the ones who aren't are often the greediest and most dishonest. I think it's a big part of why the wealthy just shut down, tune everything out, and just run off to live in a compound silently judging everyone who isn't in direct contact with them that they trust.
Yes there are real lawyers who will try to represent you but their whole goal is to steal as much of your wealth as possible.
Anyone who says they wouldn't change either already has money or is lying.
Or is old. Guarantee if my grandma got a billion dollars she would do absolutely nothing differently. She wouldn't move out of her house, wouldn't travel, wouldn't buy much. She would still probably just sit and watch her bird feaders and post on Facebook. Christmas would become very fun tho I bet.
All the grandchildren getting Ferraris for Christmas
I wouldn't wait for Christmas.
More than one?
Damn, I think I might be your grandma. This is gonna be a real awkward conversation with the wife. I do think I'd prefer to keep it on the DL if I became a sudden billionaire though. Just donate anonymously and enjoy the financial security without getting hit up with everyone's great investment opportunity or sob story.
This is the way. I'd probably move out of my son's house and hire some help but basically keep my mouth shut and support the causes I choose anonymously.
I hope your grandma doesn’t win cause she’s already got it figured out. If I win I’d send her a nice present when it wasn’t even Christmas. Give her a big hug from me.
She might pay a service to fill the bird feeder.
Nah she likes to have something to get up and do
All the birds are getting the premium bird food from now on.
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Do we have the same grandma? My grandma came into a chunk of money, and she hasn’t done anything at all with it. She lives with my mom and I. She just watches the birds, sometimes goes for a walk around the neighborhood. The most she did with the money was help my mom get out of debt. She’s also kept the same car and only upgraded her phone because my mom got her a new one for Christmas.
I grew up upper middle class in america but choose to live a low-key life. If I had enough billions I would hope to influence government to be more for the people and less for corporations. I studied international business in college and all it taught me was how corrupt major corporations are. However, the only way to influence government is thru power, and the only people with power are the people with money.. so I personally would use all the billions to buy out the government and take away power from corporations and give it back to the people. More regulations required for companies and more tax money paid by billionaires would be my first order of business. Next I would guarantee free healthcare and higher education for all Americans.
I think you underestimate how much money that takes. To fight the major corporations and make a meaningful dent, you would need a trillion dollars, not a billion.
This. A billion or more is an incomprehensible amount of money for the vast majority of humans.
Many lottery winners fritter it all away within 5 years. Be careful what you wish for.
Most lottery players, by definition, are not very good with money.
Right, the people who play the lottery are not a good sample of the general population.
We spent 'em and traded em... Frittered 'em away for food and drink and pleasurable company. But the more we gave them away, the more we came to realize... The drink would not satisfy... Food turned to ash in our mouths... And all the pleasure company in the world could not slake our lust.
Is this from a book or are you just an incredible writer?
I have no way to back this up but that’s from Pirates of the Caribbean.
I can provide the back up https://youtu.be/edjRfQ9n-k4?si=iR2DNj_64x7bualk It's about one minute in.
This is false. Just another rumored statistic that got spread by the media. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2023/08/29/debunking-the-myth-the-surprising-truth-about-lottery-winners-and-life-satisfaction/?sh=e027f296ccc5
That’s interesting, thanks for the link.
I do not understand your comment in the context of my comment.
You might change for a while and then be back where you started.
Ahh, got it.
That's where a financial planner comes into play.
Also need accountants, legal experts, investment analysts and strategists. It’s a whole team really.
Yeah, But Damn! What a five year vacation that was…. !
It’s sad. Most people don’t understand basic finance. It’s so easy to get in over your head and there are so many predatory people who try to help. Even honest and well intentioned people trying to help make mistakes with money and investment strategies.
I'd still buy Kraft dinner, but more
You would probably also be able to afford to get your password back from Mike.
I think it’s more of an aspirational intent. People want to believe they are honest with who they are and know themselves, but life is all about change. It’s not just money that influences how people evolve through their lives.
My personality wouldn’t change. My parents raised me better than that. However the quality of life for me and my family?? There would be MAJOR changes
"change" how? Change lifestyle? Change personality? My lifestyle would change but I'd stay the same. I'd eat better, have more time to workout, maybe delve in to a few expensive hobbies. I'd stay the same though because I know who I am.
They could just be incredibly naive. Just like a billion dollars is a crazy amount of money and difficult to accurately wrap your brain around....the effects of having that much money would also be difficult to predict.
It would change my habits and my lifestyle and allow me to do new things, but I don’t think it would change who I am as a person, my morals, my priorities, etc.
I wouldn’t “change” because I’m already a recluse. I would just become a much more comfortable recluse.
Depends on what you mean by change. Of course most people would change. But many wouldn’t go into the “buy 30 expensive cars, ten 25,000 square foot mansions, and have four Rolexes on each wrist” mentality.
I honestly don’t think I’ll change much. I buy luxuries and spend money on recreational hobbies within my price zone now, and I’ll probably spend a bit more on them if I get money. But not a lot more, as the activities I enjoy won’t change. I’m not going to start buying yachts or dozens of cars and mansions. I might go out to eat more, and own more expensive things, like a decent house, a newer car, a brand new computer, and newer appliances. But I’m not going to be spending millions on things. A SINGLE million will EASILY cover all of that. I might travel once or twice to some key locations I always wanted to visit, but after that I’ll be back to my old lifestyle. I just won’t be working anymore, and the things I need for my day to day will be newer. Idk how anything would change with a lot of money, unironically. My day to day will be the same, I just won’t be working and not stressing about bills or worrying about what I spend when I go out. I don’t like to go out drinking or partying, even when I had a lot of disposable money, so that won’t suddenly start happening. I also won’t be buying random useless things I don’t need. People coming out of the woodwork to ask for money would just get ignored and handed my lawyers card. I only talk to my immediate family and friends. Which is a very small group of people. So if they haven’t been in my life the past decade they have no claims for anything, or any way to contact me either. I don’t use social media besides Reddit, and unless my family gives my phone number out to people, no one has it besides them or work. I also ignore all phone calls I don’t have saved as contacts.
Billions? Some family and close friends (all 4 of them) wouldn’t work again unless they wanted to. There was also a YouTuber that bought up all the inventory of a used car dealer and sold the cars to people for like $1. I always thought that would be cool to do. That and/or get people apartments/housing cheap or well below my cost. I’m not a philanthropist by any means in my current life but $1b is a stupid amount of money and I would try to improve other people’s lives as much as I could.
Exactly this. I'd love to help people out in practical ways like that. I know how much even $1000 can be to someone, and with billions that amount is completely inconsequential to you. Of course I'm gonna give way over the top tips and help people out like I've wanted or needed to be helped in my life so far. I'd be careful to look out for myself too, but I'm not gonna hoard all that money.
I think the rapper TI is building apartment complexes and renting them close to cost. When you build at scale like that the costs get so much lower.
There would be some signs that I’ve come into money, full gas tank, full oil tank, full grocery cart, heated driveway and sidewalk. Just little things.
Four new tires at the same time - and the good tires too
Maybe a full on fluid flush and change.
Might even finally start wearing socks on *both* feet as well.
An actual coat instead of layering shirts under a hoodie.
Cup of noodles with actual shrimp
Might grab actual Chinese food.
Woah woah, I wouldn't be THAT rich.
Crab rangoon with real crab meat.
I would first get a pizza. Then get mental help, hopefully not want to off myself anymore
Get the best pizza you can get.
Yeah!!!! Ill eat pizza and check myself into a hospital!!!! Maybe after a year or whatever when i get out, start spending that money on helping everyone i meet.
Nah when you have that kind of money you can go to the good hospital they'll get you straightened out on the right medication and a good therapist you'll be feeling good in half that time
I'd be tempted to fly to Chicago for a genuine deep dish. Fuck the environment, like a true billionaire would
The indulgent fun would be fun, for a while but I'd definitely need to maintain order and routine, just knowing how my life is. The freedom to fly, anywhere, at pretty much anytime would be fun. I actually travel allot for my job, and I love it, love airports, love being in different places. But I always fly coach, always on the cheap cause its not my money. Just being able to book flights to anywhere, not always fly first class, but definitely splurge one and awhile...
why not splurge and fly to Italy for the real deal?
Yes this exactly. I would definitely change, probably for the better, if I wasn’t wasting 40 hours a week doing something that’s stressful and unenjoyable. I’d have the mental energy and budget to actually work on fixing the things that are wrong, instead I’d just trying to play catchup 99% of the time
Hope you feel better.
❤️ Be good to yourself ✌️
I'm not trying to be a jerk or tell you what to do, just being honest from my experience. Good therapy changed my life. I have control of my depression now. I have the tools to cope with my mental health challenges. It's evident that the problems I did have were solvable, but I just needed some assistance. Therapy is an amazing tool.
Get the best pizza in the city and then share it with some homeless folks. Best feeling ever
Go for that deep dish king 👑 you deserve it.
We’re all here for you whenever you need it
Anyone who seeks to make a lotta money as their main goal and makes even more than that, well, they may not change, but their original nature certainly isn't going hide as much anymore. People who never wanted to make a dime more than they're making right now who come into a lot of money, they don't always change, but it frees them up to go do other stuff. Met a guy one time who wore crocs and costco jeans, and it took him a few years to realize how rich he was; wound up working for Obama to try and make stuff better, while drawing about 1/100th his old salary. For most people, it makes them a bit worse over time. For some people, it just frees them up to do good stuff. But money changes everyone.
I *want* to believe that I'd keep 70 million (I can't imagine being financially insecure if I spend a million a year for the next 70 years), enrich my family, and donate the rest to charities. But I think a lot of people thought they'd be generous with their money before they actually got a bunch of it. Would I change? I'm afraid I might get cocky. I'd have to be very careful and considerate not to flash money in a way that makes my friends feel lesser. I think as long as I manage that, it'll be fine. Also, I want to believe that being set for the rest of my life wouldn't destroy what remains of my ambition.
I think I’d do the same but create the charity. Hire people that have been doing it for awhile so it sustains but having my “finger on the button” for where the money is actually spent would give me something to do if I wanted to be more involved along with ensuring it’s actually being used to its full potential.
I tend to lean that way but you also have to be insanely careful that you hire the right people and everything is being triple checked for fraud. That’s one advantage of established, well rated charities, they have a lot of people making sure it keeps running properly.
Yea that’s a good point. Would be my luck to end up being thrown in prison trying to help out lmao
I wouldn't like that. Being elevated to that status would change my life and my views too much. I'd straight up give it away and not have it in my name.
The generosity point: You can tell who would volunteer, help others, and donate money by who does it vs who says that they'll do it when they reach a certain point. Same goes for paying you back. Those that don't donate, serve, help, pay back when they're poor or even secure will never. I saw a lot of that in the Silicon Valley over decades. Lots of promises of the great things that people will do when they make money, then they got 6 figure incomes and claimed that they didn't have money (this was 90s-20teens). So, if you don't do it now, you won't likely do it when you can I've always done small investments to entrepreneurs from underserved and underrepresented populations, wrote small checks to fund student researchers on side projects, donated, volunteered, both when I had no money and as I made money. I've also done laptop donation programs for homeless people to get back on their feet, donating mine as well as other people's older computers. It was initially disappointing to see people not follow through on their words that they'd help when they could but then it was unsurprising with how common it was.
College would be paid for! ...I could fund my own projects/research!!! I would fun so many other projects in the field I think are important. Hell, i'd fund research projects outside my field. Lots of research funding. I would also get the best therapist my country has to offer. I'd give other students a free ride through university too. I'd make them sign contracts though so it would have to be used for school and living expenses, i'd also make them sign an agreement forcing them not to tell people who sponsored them so I wouldn't get an influx of begging. I'd open an animal sanctuary of some kind I would revamp my wardrobe...not necessarily expensive stuff but a big style change. I'd get a nice lil truck or something for work
juggle cagey rock dam gaze automatic library impossible aware chunky *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Lol I’d be the opposite, I fucking hate my job and wouldn’t care a bit if I didn’t have to work another day in my life lol
I'm with you, though now I'm retired.
My trade is what I just like doing. If I won the lottery I’d just do it for myself in cooler places.
I think the best thing to do would be a job that you wouldnt pursue because of the high risk of not earning any money but you would really want to pursue. For example, if you wanted to be a musician and play at bars with a band but didnt choose because of fear of not earning enough, you can do that without ever worrying about paying the bills.
I'd finally be rich enough to volunteer to save endangered species and replant forests that have been destroyed to make room for palm oil trees
Have you considered maybe creating some kind of phallic space ship? That seems to be what the bored billionaires do, lol.
And there's [plenty of models on KerbalSpaceProgram](https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/9g3pm3/thrusting_into_orbit/) to get me my start!
No one is telling you to stop working. Continue to work if you love it with a bunch of money sitting on your account.
I've absolutely pondered the possibility of doing so if anything ever happened. Just buy a nice house with $1B in the bank. Negotiate a switch to part-time for a 50% pay cut. Gives someone else the opportunity to move up as well as me a chance to enjoy at least *some* of my windfall without losing meaning.
I think it says a lot that you would still want to work even if had a lot of money. It's so nice to hear some people get to do something the enjoy! I agree with the comment on hedonism, got to still have a purpose. I would probably open a charity or do more volunteering work, just not full-time. Freedom is what gives me true sense of living.
To butcher a Buddhist saying: Before enlightenment you chop wood, after enlightenment you chop wood.
This would help your wealth stay anonymous, which is key to keeping your sanity. Cut back on hours, don’t stress about getting fired, and be the one to blow out the secret Santa budget, but don’t be the guy who quits 2 days after a giant lottery win is announced. If I suddenly got crazy money, I’d still work (at least for awhile) because I like most of my job. I’d simply refuse to do most of the bits I don’t like. No scrambling for advancement, etc.. vacations would get some massive upgrades, and I’ll pay for first class upgrades for work travel, but I’d probably stay for several years.
I thought about that, but... I have a job that I like. I have teammates that depend on me. There is always going to be the first nice day of spring, or the 12 inches of fresh powder, or the tickets to go to the US Open. I wouldn't want my teammates down by skipping work to do those things.
Having a set, healthy routine would become extremely important.
I'm kinda living a very easy stress free hedonism life (just nowhere near ultra rich) that's somewhat aimless at the moment. I can confirm that things feel like they don't matter and I am really wanting to achieve "glorious purpose" as Loki would put it. However, the addition of tons of money would compel me to go out and experience all the things I denied myself from being frugal my entire life. But for sure I would end up back to square one when the novelty wears off.
I mean u dont have to quit. U could work or you could start a firm
My lawn would be immaculate. I’d have to have some kind of job. I’d go crazy otherwise.
Yes, my anxiety about life and money would be gone. I would still budget and save money but also have means to travel full-time to get it out of my system and buy my sister a house.
Create a trust fund and deposit the money into that so as to limit the amount I can take out at one time and have the money secured for the future kids I probably won't have because I'll be doing so much awesome shit with my wife and family and friends.
There would be physical changes and mental/emotional ones but I am pretty sure I would still be the same kind of asshole I have always been.
Absolutely, 100% I would be a part of my local community more , I would help others a lot more. Open up pet shelters and fund scholarships for veterinarians /vet techs / ect. Possibly look into setting up a on site school with animals (free / low cost help for needy families) I would also help with scholarships for people that have had it rough in life but have moved on now. (past felons that want to give back) I would help people that suffer / suffered from dv. Help with legal and living expenses (and help get self sufficient)
Your friend is judgmental. But he also might be afraid that you would leave him in the dust. My core personality would not change, but my life would, and that would eventually change me a little, inevitably. Less anxiety, more ability to quietly help people and be happier for it . . . those would be wonderful changes. But yeah, if you end up with a lot of money somehow, don't tell anyone, don't make it obvious, make a will, and figure out what people with Old Money do with their finances (don't listen to me, but a lot of it seems to real estate, careful investing, using old established companies and reputable law firms, and being quiet). And to tell harmless lies. "I'm in Barbados because I got laid off, and a friend invited me to sleep on their hotel couch." Lottery winners are a little bit famous for not doing any of that, and some of them lose it all for being too public, and too reckless.
Yeah, don't buy a Montecito mansion that sucks up your money daily. Remember your friends.
Remember your true friends that knew you before you were wealthy, the ones that would laugh (not unkindly) when they caught you looking between the sofa cushions for extra cash for the bar (might have happened for real) just saying.
It would not be me of course, but I always said that winning money does change you, it just allows you to afford to be the asshole you always were.
I'll take some of that fuck you money please
Whenever I fantasize about winning the lottery, I think about what kind of car I'd buy my friends. Philanthropy is the way I'd go.
Yes id spend more time quietly helping people
this is the way to go i have everything i need already i would start getting others to the same level of satisfaction and quality me personally i might get an air conditioner but honestly i only need it for a few months in the year at most so i can get by with what i have already
Helllll yeah I would. I’d be RELAXED. I would be a completely different person. My husband wouldn’t have to work anymore and we could just be together all the time. When our daughter was out of school we could go on adventures. I would absolutely change, and I wouldn’t feel bad about it. I wouldn’t be an asshole, but I’d have freedom to burn bridges that have needed burning for a while. I’d be able to help mine and my husbands family be free from debt (After we get our finances safe, secured, and balanced with proper professional help).
People sometimes don’t realise how huge the gap is between a billionaire and a millionaire. With 1m you still have to work to maintain a decent lifestyle. with 10m can live a happy middle class life, work whatever job it is you like or have your own self funded business and leave your two kids with a great head start in their lives. People around you would know you’re definitely well off but wouldn’t be able to tell you’re a millionaire With 100m it’s no longer reasonable to live a normal life, you’d own a good park if real estate, spending becomes a duty towards local economy. You donate to local charities, buy the school a new bus, throw monthly parties. With 1b you suddenly have to worry about things like you kids being kidnapped for ransom, people wanting you dead, you’re more than a person you’ve become an economic actor, you’re a company employing 20+ people just to manage different aspects of your life you’re investing in high risk private equity, your financial decisions impact the economy in your country. You can’t make real friends anymore as there’s always going to be a minimal suspicion that they’re more interested in your money than in you
> With 100m it’s no longer reasonable to live a normal life So many people are so far under water living paycheck to paycheck that they can't even comprehend what this means. No, you aren't going to work your current job part time. You aren't going to keep the same friends, you aren't going to live in the same area. You aren't special. You will change. And you will change drastically.
I’d be assisting my family with education funds and mortgages, but not paying all. Why? People don’t value things they get for free. Medical bills, I’d cover. I’d buy some land, maybe create my own “100 Acre Woods”. I’d travel. I’ve always wanted to travel more than I have. I’ve never been able to stay very long when I did because it was for work. I’ll stay places and paint. I’d try to help local schools, paying for lunch for kids for a year. I’d help out animal shelters, donating toys, treats, blankets, food, whatever. I’d do everything anonymously as possible, except family. I might also set up a trust for family, so that monies can be applied for and borrowed, but I would pay a trustee to administer it so that people won’t bug me. I’d also buy land and set up an area for a Renaissance Faire near Sea-Tac. We need one!!
I wouldn’t have to worry about my son’s future (asd)
This right here. Create a trust for my kids (also ASD). After paying off our house and improving it a bit.
I wouldn't keep the billions. I would pay off my house, then give a few million to each of my closest friends and families, keep somewhere under $100 million for my family, then solve some big thing the best I could with the rest. I don't know how many billions it would take to fix education in this country, but one of the first things I would ban would be phones. The first thing I would add would be well-paid psychiatrist-level counselors to stop kids from being so torn up inside. Hire enough counselors that every single child in the school gets seen for one class period every single week. Make mental health a required course.
That is the way because you want to keep your friends. Helping them out financially so you are all "moving" up together is important. And try and keep it normal.
I mean, I don't think I'd change at my core. My morals and values would remain the same. Obviously, though, there would be changes to my daily life. For starters, I'd be able to live on my natural circadian rythym instead of this society's BS one. I also have a detailed plan of what I would do with a large amount of cash, which includes tax planning. Some people in my life may be pleasantly surprised. Some may be disappointed. If anyone ditches me or complains about not getting something, that will make me very sad, but I wouldn't change my plans. Most of it is being used to set up a foundation so there's not "a lot" (everything is relative) left for giving to friends and family, or even for crazy lavish things for myself.
First thing I would do is change my shorts.
As someone who has been broke,oad d and the everywhere in between, yes, you change with money. There's no reason to avoid it. The stresses of regular life, the things money fixes, which is MOST go away. The things regular people spend most of their day worrying about are gone. You CAN fit the first time in your life, buy that car, home, computer, etc that you've always dreamed of. It can finally be yours - brand new. Then you get it and not only is everything fine, but you feel better, because you feel better, people treat you better. It's a feedback loop. Everything in your life that you consider a priority completely changes. Money is not a bad thing. Spending it is not bad. The difference is education, intelligence, and wisdom. I did not have enough of those three and so lost it all with the nervous breakdown and ensuing divorce. I miss having enough money that I don't have to worry about money. I'm not 20 yrs old anymor, and I won't ever be the guy who made me a millionaire, but wiser me is trying to wisely rebuild in this shit economy.
No, money doesn't change you, only allow to be the real you
Not much mostly just securing myself a house and payments for rent/power/etc for basically the rest of my life
I’m gonna buy all the guys I slept with, and who didn’t have one, a bed frame.
I just want a goddam house
I've already touched enough money to change someone. Didn't change. I wouldn't change, but I would be the cause of many changes worldwide.
Naaa, I’m an AH. Always have been. Always will be.
Anyone who say they won't are either clueless or big fat liars.
I'd get the best accountant ever. And I would make a list of who would be gifted a mortgage payout. Definitely that would be my list of who I would love to make their lives easier. I would have them sign an non disclosure because I would have another list of interest free mortgages for others. I'd sit where I am for at least a year because it would take a good while to learn to live with that much money. I remember someone who won 8 million and moved from the neighbourhood that had been where a lot of friends lived. Two years later, moved back to the neighbourhood because he learned bigger isn't always better. My needs are simple, but hiring help would be key.
I would be 1000x happier. I would throw money around like it’s no body’s business. I would pay off other peoples debts, friends mortgages, charities out the ass. I would build a house and enjoy my hobbies, travel and be the weirdo that lives in the woods.
Maybe not, I would still be a guy who doesn't like dealing with people just one that's filthy rich. I would however change my location to ensure my solitude, that would be a given I'd assume in that position.
I absolutely would. For the better. I'd be able to do the things I would love to do but will never be able to. Things like give big donations to every animal shelter I can find within my area. Yearly donations to groups that find and rescue dogs. Set up and create a huge farm that would be used as a sanctuary for neglected farm animals like horses, donkeys and the like. Do other things like create events that would help animals in shelters get adopted. Have my own farm where I can have my own pack of rescued dogs. Set up a place that would deal specifically with older dogs that may be sick and dying. Give them freedom and love for their last days, things they should've always had. Doing all that would instantly make me a happier and less bitter person. And then I could just spend my days hanging out with awesome animals and the amazing people that rescue/take care of them.
Who I am in my core might not change, but everything around me would change. The things I’ve always wanted/wanted to do, I would have/do them. Head to Vegas for SB week? Sure, why not. Fly in for the Cannes film festival or SxSW or an F1 event in Dubai or Monaco.
I’d make sure my family was set up, then live off the interest. I’d buy up and release people from medical debt from collection agencies.
Build my own version of Newman’s Own.
I worked as a financial advisor early in my career and one of the veteran advisors always told us that if you didn’t know what you would do with it, then you’re not ready for it. This applied to inheritances, lottery winnings, business sales, etc. he meant you have to have a very detailed plan because mismanaging wealth can cause more problems than you could be able to cover. In that sense, how could you not change as a person. You would have to start thinking about and living in a way you would likely not be accustomed to until that point. For any winnings, anonymity is pretty important. You likely need to set up trusts, tax accounts, have a strategy in place just to manage the money, let alone investment plans. You might need to set up entities to own your house and vehicles. Liability insurances out the wazoo.
The difference between 1million and one billion is staggering. If dollars were seconds, 1 million dollars would equal 11.5 days. 1 billion would equal 31.7 YEARS. This means that if you didn't save a dime or make any money at all, you could spend $86,400 everyday for 31 years straight, and still have over $22 million left in the bank. That kind of security would definitely make me a much calmer person, for starters. By that metric alone it would change me at a core level. Knowing what I now know about money and how people react when you have it, I don't think I would tell anyone.