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submitted 1 month ago by Flax_vert@feddit.uk to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

Just a wonder on how you'd spend it. I'd probably buy up some land and build a nice village or town kind of similar to Poundbury. I'd probably sell houses at a fair price but only to people who send in a CV and seem to be upstanding people who actually want to work and be a part of a community, as well as giving them a mortgage Then I'd have a nice mansion and pretend to be a Lord where I can look over my wonderful tenants and maybe buy them Christmas gifts and send them birthday cards. Help them out if they need it.

Basically what some Lords did centuries ago but probably more kinder. Oh, and the place will be built with nice old timey architecture as well. Probably cobble streets because screw cars lmao. I just want to give people a nice life I guess as well as LARP as nobility

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[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago

Buy the entire Supreme Court of the United States.

Dunno what I'd do with the other $6.415 billion though. Maybe start buying Congress members?

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

Dunno what I'd do with the other $6.415 billion though. Maybe start buying Congress members?

Ok, but then what would you do with the remaining $6.414 billion once you've bought all of congress then?

[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Come on, man. I'm running out of ideas here.

[-] kescusay@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago
  1. Pay off the remainder on my mortgage.
  2. Pay off my parents' mortgage.
  3. Buy a new house that is large enough for my family to live comfortably in, without being ostentatious.
  4. Give my old home to my in-laws. They could use it.
  5. Set up a fund that produces enough interest for me and my family to live off of in perpetuity. $4 million in an account that produces 5.5% interest annually would be $220,000 (pre-tax) every year, which is plenty for our needs.
  6. Set up a foundation to help the poor, fund environmental projects, support social justice causes, and so on with all of the rest.

I do not need $6 billion. No one does. I don't want it. It would ruin me. The absolute best thing I could do with it is dedicate the overwhelming majority of it to causes I believe in, rather than hoarding it or buying a bunch of stupid shit.

[-] brenticus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

I agree with all of this. Except I would probably buy all the stupid shit I want because I have no concept of how all the stupid shit I want could amount to more than a rounding error.

[-] kescusay@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I can easily afford all the stupid shit I'd actually want on $220K/year earnings from interest.

[-] Teknikal@lemm.ee 23 points 1 month ago

I'll tell you what I'd do, man. two chicks at the same time. And I think if I had 5 billion pounds I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money.

Truthfully though I'd hook my family up bigtime for probably the next few hundred years and start hiring experts on how to deal with that kind of basically at least to me infinite money.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 11 points 1 month ago

Hook your family up... With two chicks each???

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Sounds reasonable. Now about this “family” designation . . .

[-] arudesalad@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 month ago

I don't know... that would almost be enough to buy property on the outskirts of London

[-] 0001@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 month ago
[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 month ago

This. Well really it would be sleep more, spend more time with my kid, work out more, but more importantly, start playing WoW again lmao. Probably also move to somewhere I like more, our house is fine and all but I'd GTFO of the west and go live somewhere chill.

[-] bluGill@kbin.run 8 points 1 month ago

Step one, get an accountant, and lawyer. Things will get complex, and mistakes can result in spending more than you have which isn't the goal. Thus an accountant to watch those numbers and keep me in the black. The big issue is taxes need to be paid so there needs to be enough left over to do that along with pay the accountant, but there will also be weird legal issues that come up.

Second, the money goes to charity. How it gets there will be tricky though.

The IRS looks at large donations and starts to assume I'm trying to dodge taxes by hiring a charity for something I'd do anyway - so my accountant will work with them to figure out what donation levels work for each that I care about. There are also some causes that I consider charity that do not meet the legal definition (often because they are political) and so the donation to them is still taxable (not that I'm trying to dodge taxes, but I'll take advantage of anything that will help causes I care about)

I will set aside some money as a fund for me. However I'll only allow myself to withdraw from it as payment for work done for charity. projects like KDE or FreeBSD can always use more help. There is a summer camp I'll volunteer for once in a while. Habitat for Humanity needs help... The important part is I need to put in 35 hours a week or I don't get money from the fund (I will allow 2 months of vacation and that summer camp will get 80 hours/week when in session which I will bank for more vacation). The important part here is I need to stay busy - doctors tell me sitting around doing nothing when you retire is deadly so I'm not going to do that.

Likely a lot of money will remain after I'm dead, so a trust fund will remain. However the instructions will be to drain the money as fast as possible. I know of several funds remaining from people who died 100+ years ago and the fund is now doing things I'm sure the original would oppose.

[-] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

Fix the simple problems: hunger, homelessness, education

[-] Azal@pawb.social 6 points 1 month ago

I'd get a block of houses, not mansions, just 6 small houses where the backyards are all together and make that into a little community where I can get the people I'm closest to into an area with a shared community space in the backyards. That's my expensive one.

Rav4 hybrid. I just want a fuel efficient car I can go camping in.

Set up a trust to make sure that I don't have to work if I don't want to, get to retire.

Then the rest... I'm stuck between which is better, dumping it into becoming a non-profit to get as many homeless people housed as possible, or build into a superpac specifically meant to bring down Citizens United.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Do everything in my power to pass some privacy legislation for Americans, and overturn the Patriot Act. I probably don't have nearly enough since I'd be going up against the biggest corporations in the world.

Make sure I set a few million aside for myself and family. Buy everyone I'm close with a house, and give them a few million each.

If there's anything left, and there probably won't be because I spent it all trying to get Congress to respect our right to privacy, then I'd start helping random struggling people who seem like good people. I suppose I'd form a foundation for that since I wouldn't have the time to help as many people as possible.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago

This is based.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Pay off debts, secure a home paid off in full for my family with enough land that we can grow our own food, get new bike, and roam the world surreptitiously helping people.

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 points 1 month ago

Yeah, I'm building at least one city from scratch. The big thing is going to be figuring out where.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago

You could probably buy out a small country

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 month ago

No, mainly because I want to build mass transit and that shit can be expensive.

[-] pugsnroses77@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

quit my job and go out to eat. real creative i know.

[-] NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Step one, have the best meal of your life *so far *

[-] slazer2au@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Call a national account and law firm to set the money up in a way that minimises the amount of tax owed for ongoing years.

Call some wholesale investment fund managers and invest a several hundred mill in each.

Trust funds for the family with liveable stipends. Gets replenished by the wholesale fund dividends.

Finally get my drivers licence sorted and see where the wife wants to visit.

[-] Tazerface@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

A Foundation is how the rich keep their money tax free.

[-] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 month ago

Build housing that would be rent-to-own. The only qualification would be paying first month’s rent and a deposit, then if you stay for 15 years you own the place. Price it for minimal profit (5-10%) and build/renovate a new set every year.

[-] K3zi4@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Well, besides the obvious of paying off mortgages and debts which wouldn't even amount to a fraction of that, I'd buy an island to convert into a 24/7 mass paintball (or laser tag or something) warzone experience, like hundreds of people on both sides.

Sell the experience to people, classic Red team vs blue team, stay until you're eliminated, barracks/camps, HQ, command structures, etc. It would be a live streamed competition with commentary, tactics, live go pro cams, everything. Maybe do it in seasons, have leaderboards, MVPs, whatever.

Players that have already been to the island before would be able to advise, or place bets on their accounts or whatever to build up load outs for their next trip.

The goal being a fun live game, exercise, stamina training, whatever, but mostly an outlet for the people in the world that get excited by war with the intention of hopefully reducing that with a safe environment.

I feel like if done correctly, and made as affordable as possible, it could turn into a relatively profitable business. I would then ensure the profits went to charities that provide aid to actual warzones and ensure that the primary message of the theme park is completely anti-war.

Any money leftover that didn't go into that project I would donate and invest in animal welfare and conservation, renewable energy, and tackling the climate crisis.

[-] ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

Move to Europe, start a game studio, throw the rest in investments, donate the proceeds to try to reduce homelessness where I currently live.

[-] savvywolf@pawb.social 3 points 1 month ago

I'd probably be boring and try to use it to improve the lives of marginalised and impoverished people. Getting hospital waiting times down, improving access to mental health support, give people loans to get on their feet. That sort of thing.

Maybe I could also make a video sharing site to complete with Youtube and force them to make some improvements to remain competitive. But I'm not sure 6 billion will go far enough on that front.

[-] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Pay off all my debts and set the rest on fire

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

Then your roof caves in an hour after you burned it all

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 1 month ago

Shit, that's over 30 billion BRL. On a quick search for comparison, that's more money than several Brazilian states' yearly budget! I really have no fucking clue what I'd do, because I'd want to start going Cities Skyline around.

[-] Toes@ani.social 2 points 1 month ago

There's an anime based on this idea. Higashi no Eden

But I would try to raise the quality of life of those in my circle and hopefully others. I like to think ~6 billion is a lot of cash but it won't be enough to help everyone directly. So I would probably need to pick a few issues and start up an charity focused around the ideas of solving issues with censorship, access to the internet and providing a safe haven to oppressed lgbt individuals.

[-] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

And when you go to war they're obligated to go too, possibly even in your place

[-] morphballganon@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I've got a nearby city that's been exploding in popularity. Creating my own suburb nearish to that should be sustainable, and reduce the inflation of COL.

I'd become a sponsor of the Trillion Tree Project to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

I'd organize a group to help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and probably find some way to reuse all that plastic, to reduce the amount of new plastic that needs to be created.

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Quit my job and travel for a while. I'd give 15% to family\friends. I also tend to be partial to the poor\homeless so I'd probably start a program to house and feed those that need it in a big way. And I'd invest 50% of it so I was wealthy, period. In my will, I'd give it all to children's hospital's around the country\world.

[-] Dumbkid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago

Take a day off

[-] STUNT_GRANNY@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Well, my "if I won the lottery" fantasy only requires a few million. One by one, I'd tell my mates to come check out my new place, which turns out to be a condo at Circuit of the Americas. While we're overlooking my collection of mint-condition shitbox cars that have no reason to be preserved, I'd hand them a check for enough money to wipe out their debts and buy a house... along with a non-disclosure agreement.

Then I'd disappear for a while, taking a road trip around the country without any sort of financial or scheduling concerns. Just show up in a random city, spend a few weeks seeing all the sights at my own pace, then moving along whenever I feel like it.

Going from millions to billions, I doubt I'd deviate from that plan too much. Once I've got myself and my mates set for life, I guess I'd set the remaining 4.9 billion pounds aside for any impulse buys, like an F1 team or a couple hundred politicians.

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[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Setup solar panels with 99% of it then probably die in an orgy of hedonism with the remaining 6 million.

[-] spiderman@ani.social 1 points 1 month ago

buy/build a house at boat club, open a cafe and just deposit rest of the amount in bank. might buy some land too.

ps. boat club is a place in chennai that's known for its insane land price.

[-] RBWells@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

So after taxes about $4B?

Take 500 million out for me, start a business and do all the stuff we want to.

If possible: Use the rest for a fund for perpetuity to fund transit all over my city, make the buses free and running every 15 minutes, and pay the drivers and all the other workers a really good wage.

If that's impossible, I guess I have to run for governor, win, and Make Florida Freaky Again! Work for the good of our state. Is billions enough to do it?

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 1 points 1 month ago

Obviously I'm gonna work out how much to set aside to live comfortably off the interest forever first. That should not require a big percentage of that much money. Get myself a house, make sure my loved ones are set and comfortable too.

Next I'm going to set aside a chunk of it to be completely irresponsible with. I'm gonna get on a train and see all the bits of Europe I want to see, stay in nice hotels, eat in fancy restaurants, and bring my friends and family along to various bits of it. There are a few things like videogames I would like to see developed but do not have the skills to make myself, so I'll throw a few tens of millions at those ideas. If they work out, awesome, they might even pay for themselves. I've always liked vehicle design so I will get a car coachbuilt. Not something flashy and loud, just something exactly how I decide it should be. A bunch of custom-built guitars.

So with needs and vices taken care of, and I cannot imagine I have even come close to getting through the first of five billions yet, it's time to actually try to do some good. I have a strong casual interest in history, so I think I'd enjoy funding work to be done by local institutions in places that are currently relatively under-explored. Ask universities in these places what they want, ask nothing in return other than that someone shows me whatever cool stuff they've learned every so often. You want to take the time to laser-scan a bunch of ancient buildings like the Zamani project is doing? Hell yeah, I'll pay everyone's wages for that. My thinking here is that if I'm not directing it I'm unlikely to unintentionally fuck something up through ignorance, and by paying for skilled work that is not extracting anything physical I am hopefully giving the local economies a boost in a way that should not result in me undercutting any local industries or anything

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Establish a trust dedicated to effectively and efficiently using the funds to advance my goals.

What are my goals? They’re centered around public health, housing, the environment, equality and justice.

Feels like wishful thinking, but then, so does winning 5 billion GBP…

[-] Kalkaline@leminal.space 1 points 1 month ago

I'd set up an NAEC level 4 epilepsy center for low income families, both adults and kids on separate floors. I figure between the MRI, EEG, MEG, SPECT, PET, doctors, surgeons, nursing, land, building, etc I could burn through some of that money and possibly setup an endowment that would allow it to run perpetually. If successful I'd setup secondary and tertiary sites in rural areas, all free of cost for the patients if viable.

[-] Tazerface@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Fund everyone working on medical nanobots. I get down with living to 120 with a good quality of life. Of course, this would go a long way to helping a lot of people with serious issues.

[-] Hello_there@fedia.io 1 points 1 month ago

Build a workers coop for lots of types of businesses and then gift them ownership stakes in it after working for 5 years.

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this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2024
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