Thought experiment: Let's say I win the $153 million dollar Powerball jackpot tonight.

[Pale Blue Dot]

First of all, I know what you're going to say; in my defense, I only spent $1.

The thought experiment is this: Considering the state of the economy, if I take a lump-sum payment, what should I do with the money? I scared to put it into banks; in fact, I'm scared of almost any investment.

How do I keep my $153 million safe?

[tekisui]

1. Not real estate.

Metals and Energy(especially alternative) are the only places to build the money.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. Depends on the real estate.

[yourout]

2. Oil.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Start a company, call it Halliburton, make friends in high (and I do

mean high) places. Everything will fall correctly for you.

Meanwhile, check out this car... you might want to buy one with your take....

[John Q. Citizen]

4. First, you either get it over 20 years as an annuity or you get half as a lump sum.

Second, something like 35% goes to taxes.


As for investment, knoweledge and diversification. Some into CDs, some into bonds, some into the stock market, some into real estate some into metals.

Also give some off it away to charities, family and friends, causes, foundations, etc.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. The Powerball is paid out over 29 years. n/t

[CJCRANE]

6. I can give you some great advice

for a small fee.

;)

[RC]

8. Just sign it over to me. I'll keep it safe for you.

:evilgrin:

[kimmerspixelated]

9. First of all,

Have I told you how marvelous you are lately?

And secondly, please ..listen...I know a place to send the money that would be perfectly safe...afterall we're friends, right?


Just kidding! Whooa! Big money always leads to bigger problems, huh?... but like almost everyone, I'd take on that kind of burden without looking back!

But you do have to wonder suddenly, who your friends really are.

Good luck! I hope you win!

[skepticscott]

10. The better question would be

how to use it to keep yourself safe in the coming times. Build a really good house with a really good security system somewhere where it can be powered completely by your own solar, wind or geothermal plant. Be near a reliable, long-term source of water (if there is such a thing) and have a purification plant. Stockpile everything you can...fuel, food, ammo, weapons, medical supplies. Have protected property where you can grow food. Anticipate as many things that could go really badly in the next 20-30 years and prepare for as many of them as you can while you have virtually unlimited money. A stash of gold coins couldn't hurt, but as you say, if things turn really bad, any investment may be a total loss.

[TheWraith]

11. Actually, banks are pretty safe.

Bank deposits (legit banks, anyway) are FDIC insured, meaning they're guaranteed by the federal government up to $100,000. Divide your $100 million (after taxes) into 1,000 different bank accounts, and you're completely protected, other than what you're going to be paying your accountant for keeping the details straight.

Alternatively, there are other investments that are reasonably safe. Land, for starters--not housing, which can fluctuate in value, but raw land is pretty reliable particularly in areas where residential communities are expanding. This keeps prices high for building lots.

You can invest in industries which are more recession-proof than others, including food production, medicine, etcetera. There's also putting your money in goods: gold is the typical example, but anything which has commodity value works as well. Steel, gas, oil, copper. Particularly oil and copper, both of which have been soaring lately.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. If you take the cash (and you SHOULD take the cash) you'll get around $51 million after taxes.

If you're scared of banks or almost any investment you could buy 10 year Treasuries with it and earn 3.6%. 3.6% on $51 mil is $1,836,000 per year. You would ALWAYS have the principal, you could sell the notes if you wanted to but if you didn't, you would still have the principal.

Could you live on $5,030.14 a day?

If you bought Municipal bonds paying roughly the same interest rate, your income would be Federal Income Tax free.

If you got over your fears, you could easily earn 8% total return with a relatively conservative portfolio. 8% on $51,000,000 is $4,080,000 the first year.

[namsdubmo]

13. first of all, you have to win it

that's issue one

then, a mix of swiss bonds, physical silver, natural resources of varied kinds, farmland etc, all of it mixed around the world

[davidinalameda]

14. emigrate

Canada is nice

[Boojatta]

15. Lend money to lots of people who are at risk of losing their homes.

Charge very low interest rates. Then they will be able to make payments to you. They will be very appreciative, so they will be likely to not try to evade their payment obligations. It's a diversified investment if the borrowers work in a variety of different industries and a variety of different occupations.

[gravity]

16. Banks are safe

The chances of one going default are close to nil. If you are really worried, put your assets in many different banks in case there is a one in a thousand chance that one defaults. You could also put some of your money in London or Europe to hedge risks further.

The financial system in the US is one of the most secure in the world. A lot of rich people keep there millions and billions in this country if it tells you anything.

If you really won $153 million, you have a much greater risks of being scammed out of that money by a con artist or gold digger, than you do from a collapse of the banking system.

[TNDemo]

21. FDIC was warning that they expected 100-200 banks to fail

in the pretty near future. I find it rather odd that they would actually announce this. I am just wondering when FDIC will say it just can't cover all the losses if that happens. They said they thought it would primarily be in California and the rust belt but I am not sure how widespread it will be. People must not be taking them seriously since I haven't really heard of a run on any banks.

[gravity]

25. Spread your money over many banks and assets

Put your money over many national banks, and the chances of losing it are nil. Maybe a few local S&Ls could potentially fail, but there is really no chance from the bigger institutions The government will bail them out in the worst case scenario, because not doing so would cause a economic collapse. Even then, you still have most of your money safe in other banks.

If you really won $153 million, asking for advice on the Internet what to do is probably the riskiest thing to do. If someone offers a less risky way to preserve your capital than buying treasury securities and holding your money in a large financial institution, they are probably a scam. They will be playing off your fears for their own financiall gains.

If you are really paranoid, you can diversify your assets over many developed countries and precious metals to hedge any systematic risks. Putting your money in just one of those assets is not going to be in less risky (and probably more) than buying short term treasury securities.

[Speck Tater]

17. Buy a big chunk of land and enough food to last the rest of your life. NT

[KillCapitalism]

18. Convert your winnings to Euros.

If things keep going the way they currently are, the dollar is not going to be worth anything, except to maybe use as T.P. or kindling for firewood.

If I won, I would donate A LOT of it to less fortunate people.

[SarahB]

19. That's what I've said.

(P.S. I'm the one who legally gets to share those Powerball winnings. ;) )

[Pale Blue Dot]

20. I haven't checked yet.

I'm not done fantasizing about winning. :D

:loveya:

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. Let's change the thought experiment: Suppose I win the $173 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday.

:cry:

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. One problem with those multi-state lotteries when they get so big....

is that so many more people buy tickets, and while the individual odds of winning don't change, the probability of there being more than one winner goes up dramatically.

So be prepared to get half.

[Gandolph]

24. kick n/t