As I write this, Mega Millions has been bumped up to $640 million. If you take the 26 annual payments rather than the lump sum (which I plan on doing) it's roughly $38,500 per year--before taxes--for each million in the jackpot. In this case, you can expect a deposit of $24,640,000 every 12 months.
Today has been full of blue sky, crazy thoughts about what you should do with it. Get a lawyer and a really good accountant.Then there's what people want to do with it. A sports car and plastic surgery.
So I thought it'd be fun to do a post about what I really, actually would seriously do with it if I win.
Let's assume the government is going to take half. It's actually less than that. But we'll make it an even $12 million for easy math.
I'd give half of that away to charity. I debated in my head if this was fair. Far more than many people would give, I ended up telling myself. Again, for easy math let's not talk about investment or interest. Let's just assume a flat $6 million I'll be giving away to my favorite causes annually. Greyhound rescue. March of Dimes. Maybe buy the hospital my daughter was born at a new NICU. Save a few coffee farmers in developing nations. NPR. PBS. Museums. Maybe fund a scholarship or two. The food bank.
That still leaves me $6 million every year to play with. Of course, I will have paid off the mortgage, credit cards, student loans. Does a million to each kid sound fair? Get our families setup.
Then what? That's still a hell of a lot of money to literally throw at something.
A coffee farm in Hawaii? Bison ranch in the West? My own island? Roughly $8.5 million is the average amount spent to win a US Senate seat. Perhaps I'd like to go to space? If I win, feel free to throw ideas at me. I'm sure I'll be looking for company. Oh, and I'll also be in the market for a personal assistant.
Most people take the lump sum and blow through their winnings in 5 years. I actually see a time in Year 25 when I'm bored. Money can make life easier. But there is a point of diminishing returns. Case in point: The $18 million headache
Money can't buy happiness. Just lots and lots of really overpriced luxury goods.
Today has been full of blue sky, crazy thoughts about what you should do with it. Get a lawyer and a really good accountant.Then there's what people want to do with it. A sports car and plastic surgery.
So I thought it'd be fun to do a post about what I really, actually would seriously do with it if I win.
Let's assume the government is going to take half. It's actually less than that. But we'll make it an even $12 million for easy math.
I'd give half of that away to charity. I debated in my head if this was fair. Far more than many people would give, I ended up telling myself. Again, for easy math let's not talk about investment or interest. Let's just assume a flat $6 million I'll be giving away to my favorite causes annually. Greyhound rescue. March of Dimes. Maybe buy the hospital my daughter was born at a new NICU. Save a few coffee farmers in developing nations. NPR. PBS. Museums. Maybe fund a scholarship or two. The food bank.
That still leaves me $6 million every year to play with. Of course, I will have paid off the mortgage, credit cards, student loans. Does a million to each kid sound fair? Get our families setup.
Then what? That's still a hell of a lot of money to literally throw at something.
A coffee farm in Hawaii? Bison ranch in the West? My own island? Roughly $8.5 million is the average amount spent to win a US Senate seat. Perhaps I'd like to go to space? If I win, feel free to throw ideas at me. I'm sure I'll be looking for company. Oh, and I'll also be in the market for a personal assistant.
Most people take the lump sum and blow through their winnings in 5 years. I actually see a time in Year 25 when I'm bored. Money can make life easier. But there is a point of diminishing returns. Case in point: The $18 million headache
Money can't buy happiness. Just lots and lots of really overpriced luxury goods.