Everyone is talking about the Mega Millions of course and I’m no different. Winning a billion dollars…well, with the cash payout at the last count, it would be $904 million, but that’s close enough for me…winning that kind of money would be mind blowing.
Everyone likes to talk about what they’d do with it and once again I’m no different. I’ve spent that money six ways from Sunday. I’ve always had a simple rule – take care of some close friends and my family of course, but that goes without saying. My “fun rule” is this: take 10% off the top (after tax) and blow it.
That’s right…blow it.
No rhyme or reason, no gifts for family, no donations to charity, no helping those around me. Nope, this is pure fuck-it-all gluttony. Buy the most expensive bottle of wine and drink it, buy a Banksy and shred it, rent a private jet (heck at that price maybe buy one) and fly somewhere ridiculous for lunch, buy a fast car (or in my case probably an electric car), go out for a night and live the most decadent night possible. The goal is to just spend that 10% and enjoy it. I still have 90% to be responsible with. You know, put away money for the future, set up smart investments, buy a house, take care of family and friends, take care of others…all the good, responsible things I know I should do.
There is also one thing I’d do that I’ve always wanted to do. Give it all away. Okay, maybe not all of it, but a lot of it. But it would be random. Imagine picking a name out of the phone book and making that person a millionaire just because you can. I’d go into a random daycare and tell them I’d pay off the bills for all the single mom’s in there and remain anonymous. Find the manager at the grocery store and tell him to shut down for an hour…anyone currently in the store is on my tab. Call a restaurant on a Friday night and give them my credit card number, it’s on me. Tip boldly.
I’d also donate to several charities and organizations that I believe in, but those are always personal.
Then there is the art. First, I’d go on a shopping spree and buy some art from some of my favorites. A mix of names you know and maybe don’t, but I’d buy as much of it as I could. I’d open a small gallery for artists I love and depending on how much art I am able to obtain, I may just have to open a museum. I do guarantee that I’d own something by Andy Warhol and something by Andrew Wyeth by the end of the spree. There are many others, but those two are must haves. There are also many artists I have watched on Instagram that would find themselves a new patron that can finally afford their works.
I would buy the Islanders, but that’s already been done.
Of course, my chances are slim, but it’s always fun to dream a little. What would you do with all of it?
Update 10/24: I am not a billionaire. Or any other kind of “-aire.” I wasn’t even close. Oh well, back to my normal non-Andrew-Wyeth-painting-owning life.
image courtesy of KJGarbutt
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