If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

[MikeG]

I'm talking over $100 million.

[Speck Tater]

1. Other: Share some with family members, then

use the rest to start a local business of some kind that would be interesting to me and that would create a few decent living-wage jobs locally.

[JanMichael]

2. Fund the Revolution.

:-)

[bigwillq]

3. I would split it with my family

My parents and sister and then maybe give some to some of my other family members but we have quite a large extended family, I wouldn't want to slight anyone.

Then I would do some shopping, cars, trips.

Of course, save and invest some.

I would give to some causes like the environment, AIDS research, GLBT organizations, and some to my local high school.

I would also give to the Kerry/Edwards campaign and of course some to DU!

[Worst Username Ever]

4. A Liberal wins the lottery, and throws a party...

A Conservative wins the lottery, and bitches about the taxes.


I would invest for my future, then start a non-profit fund and work to raise money for that forever.

On edit: Whatever money I save due to Bush's tax cuts, I'll give to DU and the DNC!

[maveric]

32. Buy a house so I wont have to pay $1000.00 for a shithole apartment,

set up trust funds for my kids, give to the charities of my choice, start a metal fabrication shop and create a few decent jobs, fix my Mom's house up for her, get some world travel in, sponsor women's pro beach volleyball tournaments, buy 100 tacos for $100.00.

[ET Awful]

5. First - Pay off all my debt

Second, give some to family and friends.

Third, buy a home or two :).

Fourth, buy some toys and do some investing/financial planning.

Fifth, give some considerable amounts to the Kerry campaign, to MoveOn, a few charities, etc.

[Mountainman]

6. I would buy all the available land around where I live and have an

animal rescue ranch and I would also try to get some of the homeless people back on their feet and back to being a functioning part of society. I would have some of them work on my ranch until they could find a job of their own.

I don't really need a whole lot of money for myself, just knowing that I don't have to worry about it is OK by me. I wouldn't buy a big house or a bunch of cars. Just me, my wife, our animals and whomever else gets involved.

[Birthmark]

7. Well

I'd either lose it or give it to my wife to handle.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Charity a big factor....

I'd be donating to Future Visions Foundation, Refugees International, the Hope Project, and to progressive political candidates.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Set up a trust fund for me, so I never to work for money again

and so that someone else is managing it and I can't just piss it away by way of the ATM.

Buy a boatload of land and build a house on it, big enough to have 30 or 40 people come stay and enjoy themselves, with their own rooms and own bathrooms, and a big jacuzzi/hottub thingy (not California style, but Japanese bath style) and beautiful parklike landscaping and many acres of wild woodland as well, and I'd open the house to all sorts of friends and family for holidays and vacations and stuff. I'd also build a large studio on it for me, in which I can paint, and also have all the equipment I need for composing music and editing video.

The house will also have a very nice library - with wood shelves and paneling and leather couches and chairs and throw rugs and be real comfy and roomy and homey.

Then some for the family, much to charity, and a boatload to my seminary which really needs a big cash intake so it doesn't flounder, which is important because it's the world's leading liberal seminary (Union Seminary in NYC) and one of the few offering a necessary backvoice to all the religio-patriotic-sex-is-taboo crap going on in the world.

And, if there's still some left, I'll buy a few more "r"s, made out of teak and platinum.

[Beaverhausen]

10. Both

Spend some on me, my family and friends and start a foundation that donates money to childrens and animal charities.

[No2W2004]

11. Buy a few Senators

Then buy 'em a new set of balls...yes, this goes for women Senators as well, since I'm not speaking literally. :P

[DrBlix]

16. As any smart republican would do, I'd hire a top CPA

Before I collect to avoid huge tax bite. Probably set up some kind of foundation.

[Nikia]

12. My husband and I would probably have a big fight

On our premarital marriage compatibility test we had to take to get married in the particuliar church, we scored 0% compatibility on money. As things are now, I am pretending that I don't care how our money is used. If I won the lottery, I might care a bit more.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. buy a hundred million lotto tickets

:)

[MikeG]

15. You must be an existentialist.

On edit - LOL!

[Philosophy]

14. I'd be like Paul Allen

Kind of a mysterious venture capitalist / philanthropist

[Kenneth ken]

17. dunno

I have always thought sharing among family would be good. But I have a large family, so how far does one extend the term? sisters & brothers? nephews & nieces? cousins? aunts & uncles?

It would certainly be possible in my family to split up a couple hundred million to the point that each person only got $1,000.
So, how effective would that be?

But how does one slight family?

I kind of like Rabrrrrrrrrrrr's (how many r's are actually in that name?) idea of buying a large plot of land; though I would leave as much as possible undeveloped, just have a really large buffer zone to keep people away. And I don't really want a big house, because I don't want a maid, and so that means the bigger it is , the more cleaning I have to do.

The only part I am certain of is that I would want to try to ensure I didn't have to work to survive ever again; so some sort of trust fund type account would have to be set up. Difficult though, since I would have a hard time trusting any financial adviser. I'd probably end up with a series of certificate fo deposits in a wide array of banks earning miniscule interst and call that good enough.

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. It has one prefixural R and 6 suffixal "r"s

And I don't know if either of those are official words, and if they aren't, I want credit in the next OED for them.

The land I would buy I would buy with the purpose that the majority of it never be touched and left as is (except for occasional logging off and trimming it out so it isn't a huge fire danger, etc.).

[Kenneth ken]

21. thanks

I've never actually counted. I'll try to keep that in mind if I ever find reason to name you again.

Rab123456

Rabrrrrrr
Rabrrrrrr
Rabrrrrrr

I think I can do this.

:hi:

the land thing sounds good, your house would be bigger than mine, I think.

:bounce:

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Probably would be bigger,

but I have a lot of family, and love showing hospitality, and grew up with a lot of my male cousins (10-15 or so usually) just hanging out at grandma's farm for most of the summer. I loved that atmosphere of just showing up, staying the night if we wanted, eating, playing around, etc. Grandma was pretty cool that way.

So I want always to have room in my home for people to come hang out. And the more room, the better. :-)

[Kenneth ken]

26. yeah

that sounds good, and I have a big family too. But I really hate house-cleaning; and also hate the idea of the overlord so vast and powerful to have servants at his beck and call - so it's a qunadary - lucky me I don't have millions of dollars and so am not in that position.

:P

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Come on, you want to turn to the dark side, and you know it

come on...just give in to your urges, just start with one servant, see how it goes. I'll provide one for free for a while, just to give you a feel, then you can get more at your own leisure.

Come, come - you know you want to...

[Kenneth ken]

36. lol

I would turn into suc an irresponsible, oppressive, manipulative asshat I wouldn't be able to stand myself.

They'd all be cute femmes in suggestive or non-apparel, and probably very little house keepiong would ever actually get done.

I do know my flaws.

:D

[NNadir]

18. Invest overseas in safe countries with low debt, take my Bush tax cut and

and distribute among Democratic candidates for the White House, Blair House, House of Representatives and the Senate (maxing my contributions as much as possible.)

Oh yeah, I'd use the news conference to bash the Cheney-Bush-Nader administration.

[MrSlayer]

20. Hire Slayer to play my celebration party.

Right after I buy a large compound somewhere for all of my family and friends to live in. Afterward I'd just enjoy the hell out of never having to work again. Lots of traveling and carousing.

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. I wish I could say something charitable, but I'd probably go nuts with

it first. :hi: In all honesty.

[belladonna]

23. Buy my very own hotel

A very... SPECIAL hotel in some very cool place. :evilgrin:

Jamaica and a few others come to mind, tropical atmosphere most likely. Been in the hotel business for years, and have always wanted to buy my own and run it.

[Eye and Monkey]

27. you know, I'd stay in the same field that I'm already in, like you...

And like you, I'd use the money to run my own unique operation. I'm in a different field, but I just might find an opportunity to drop into your tropical paradise.

BTW, whether you win the lottery or not, I could possibly be of assistance in finding that "special place"...

[belladonna]

31. That special place?

Or MY special place? :evilgrin:

[Eye and Monkey]

33. ambiguity...

often leads to mystery, and perhaps to the road to adventure, n'est ce pas?

[Reality Not Tin Foil]

24. buy a house

retire my parents, pay off my siblings homes, prepay my kids educations. Quit my job, do something, even if just contributing, to Dr.s without borders.. I'd hopefully invest well so that I could live comfortably, as well as traveling overseas and helping people that really need help. The "poor" in America are overweight.. the poor overseas are starving and dieing. I would hope to be rich enough to make the impact that Bono has, with his passion for his cause.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. A bunch of things

Pay off debts
Set up trust funds for my nieces and nephews, paying for their educations but making them ineligible to claim the balance until the age of 40
Give the legally allowed amount to some friends who are either unemployed or starving artists
Buy a condo somewhere in Minneapolis or St. Paul
Travel like crazy--and never fly coach again
Give to my favorite causes
Make sure I have enough to last a lifetime, with part of it stowed in an offshore account

[flamingyouth]

30. I would start a foundation

I would love to be able to give grants to agencies that help both children and animals in need.

[beevul]

34. Other: Several things

First and foremost, I would make sure my family was made and kept comfortable. Trusts for all. Noone in my family would EVER work another day in thier life.

Second, I would buy my self/family some of the things I/they have always wanted, but considered to be forever out of reach.(for myself, an all original 1970 LS-6 SS454 chevelle, a 1968 SS396 chevelle convertible, and a COPO 9560/9561 camaro/yenko/dana/nickey/baldwin motion camaro - all things I have dreamt of owning since my teenage years)

Third, after that was done, and our girls grown and self sufficient, I would disappear into the wilds of the world for weeks, maybe months at a time, searching for the existance of bigfoot, nessie, and other like creatures - something I dream of. Also, traveling to see the wildlife of the world, like bullet ants, jackjumper ants, those (I cant remember the name) SUPER LARGE hornets in japan, and all varietys of venemous reptiles. A fascination I have had since childhood.

And of course, some to charity.

[Skittles]

35. I would have the greatest time giving most of it away

first donation: DU.

[Solon]

37. Raise an Army...

ON TO WASHINGTON!!! :evilgrin:

PS: No sense of direction, why the hell is it raining so much here? :)

[NashVegas]

38. Set Up Trust Funds for My Family

And the children of some close friends.

buy homes in:

NY (Brooklyn, probably)
Seattle
SF
The Adirondacks
Nashville

and spend my time swinging back and forth between them all to hang out with my peeps.

[Senior citizen]

39. Emigrate to Canada

and then, once I was sure the U.S. couldn't touch the money (I'd have to take cash, not payments), move to Cuba.

On edit: An amount that would fund a nice lifestyle here, would be enough to counter the embargo and improve life for everyone in Cuba, at least for a while. Money goes a lot further in some places than in others. I had a good life in Afghanistan (late '60s, early '70s) on about $60.00 a month, because that was what the average Afghan got in a year.

I'm not too concerned about material things, but I'm not young and I'd like to die in a place that didn't have an official policy of making terminal patients suffer as much as possible, the way we do here. The U.S., at least for some, has been a good place to live, but it has not been a good place to die.

[jakefrep]

40. Pay off my debt

Move
Get an unlisted phone number (don't want any long-lost "relatives" or "friends" to show up on my doorstep

Buy a big house or two
Buy a couple of nice cars
Take care of my family
Travel
Indulge my photography hobby
PARTY!

[Radical Activist]

41. Run for Congress

That's the only way I can afford it since a bunch of corporations would never donate to my campaign.

[SarahB]

42. Get divorced.

Then....Travel! Travel! Travel!

Then I'd make sure everyone who needs a little that I care about was set up sufficiently.
I'd donate a good chunk to charity- probably an intermingling of political, environmental, and child-related type funds.

Then, I don't know. I probably wouldn't stay in nursing school, but I don't know. I want to work somehow in public health eventually and this is a good start. I couldn't imagine ever just wanting to sit around eating bon-bons and getting manicures. :eyes:

Many of the things I want would be easier with some additional $$, but there are other things in this world that I would want that money can't buy.

[DS1]

43. Travel.

[livinginphotographs]

44. I'd start a music school.

I'd hire the best teachers I could find, and let students who deserved it attend for free.

Then I'd pay off my credit cards, buy an apartment here, and then buy a cabin in rural Alaska. Maybe some new synths too...

[Race4Peace]

45. I would use $25million of it to pay for some of DU's expenses,then I would

use $40 million to fund the Student Revolution, then use $34,999,999.99 for woo hoo! purposes, then use 1 cent to buy the bUSH administration(that's what it's worth) and give it back to Gore.

[TahitiNut]

46. Scholarships, legal aid, and jobs.

I'd focus on single moms for scholarships ... paying all their expenses from bare minimum for a "C" average to creature comforts for "A" work. (Yes, an incentive.) I'd also offer incentives to pre-law, paying for law school if they committed to Project Innocence while in law school and legal aid afterwards. (No more corporate attorneys.) I'd set up incentives for disadvantaged high school kids who wanted to do volunteer work -- and figure out some way they could gain exposure to various careers they'd otherwise not see.

Lots of stuff like that.

[LiberalManiacfromOC]

47. Put it all in an annuity

and wait until I was about 40. after 25+ years of being in an annuity I would HOPEFULLY be loaded. Then, I would make sure I was financially stable and would donate it to charities.

Edit: I forgot about distribution of it to family members.

[fortyfeetunder]

48. Old house renovation

Buy my grandparents homes and have them renovated to B&B's....they are in semi-rural communities and the business would be good.

Also pay enough to my siblings to keep them happy for awhile...they will probably spend it all.

[Interrobang]

49. Well...

I'd pay off all my student loans and other debts;

I'd use $9M or so of it to split in three trust funds to give to my friend Ed and his two kids who are still around (no one's heard from the third one for almost three years now, except for his ex-wife's side of the family);

I'd give $10M or so to a friend of mine who has a Really Big Project (involving basically an intentional community) to get off the ground;

I'd put $1M or so in a trust fund for my sister (as everyone else in the family is fairly well off);

I'd invest maybe $50-100K in a friend's company (as an "angel investor") because I believe in the work he's doing, and it wouldn't matter so much if I lost it, but it'd probably make the difference to him between scraping by and having a successful business;

I'd give another $1M or so each to two other friends of mine so they could live the rest of their lives in relative comfort, since neither of them are young anymore;

Then, after I'd done all that, I'd get rid of or sell off most of my stuff (and put the rest in storage), give notice on my apartment, get someone to look after my cat for a while, have the phone disconnected, and take off on a couple of trips. I think I'd go to Israel by way of England first, visiting friends at every stop on the way... :) (For some reason, I have this pervasive fantasy of spending a fairly long while lounging on a beach at Eilat -- could it be that $1 CDN = 3.37 NIS? Or maybe it's that really cute guy I know from Beer Sheva -- bet he'd look good in swim trunks!)

When I got back from my Interrobang World Tour, I think I'd buy myself a nice little house somewhere (I don't want a big house because big houses are damn hard to clean) and take up horseback riding again.

[Angelus]

50. I'd give $90 million away.

I'd keep the rest. Who needs $100,000,000???

[DemWitch]

51. First and foremost...

Split it 50/50 with my parents.

Then...

Invest half of my half.

Buy a huge piece of land (locally, I like where I live) and build a small one bedroom cabin. Don't need a lot of room.

Buy a '58 Lincoln Convertable, white with blue interior. (Sorry my eco-minded friends, but 7 mpg or not I love it)

Buy a new Subaru Forester and burn my Hyundai to the ground, returning it's ashes to the dealer.

Totally fund my local SPCA.

Make sure that my friends New Age/Spiritual Store always shows a profit.

Start a scholarship for kids wanting to go to school who are interested in becoming active with politics.

Outspend my current Congressman 2 to 1, get elected, and go to DC to piss off the establishment and make some real changes. Be a regular on Crossfire, Inside Politics, O'Reilly, and Meet the Press and name names on all the good for nothing politicians dirty dealings. (and hopefully not be killed in a mysterious plane crash)

[jmowreader]

52. Open a business that requires a lot of workers

We liberals are supposed to be all about job creation. With $100 million in the bank, you can do a lot of it.