Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: What Would You Do If You Were Suddenly Wealthy?
An anonymous reader writes: There are a few articles floating around today about comments from Markus Persson, aka "Notch," the creator of Minecraft. He sold his game studio to Microsoft last year for $2.5 billion, but he seems to be having a hard time adjusting to his newfound fame and wealth. He wrote, "The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes impossible due to imbalance. ... Found a great girl, but she's afraid of me and my life style and went with a normal person instead. I would Musk and try to save the world, but that just exposes me to the same type of a$#@%&*s that made me sell minecraft again." While he later suggests he was just having a bad day, he does seem to be dealing with some isolation issues. Granted, it can be hard to feel sorry for a billionaire, but I've wondered at times how I'd handle sudden wealth like that, and I long ago decided it would make the human relationships I'm accustomed to rather difficult. So, how would you deal with Notch's problem? It seems like one the tech industry should at least be aware of, given the focus on startup culture.
How about volunteering time and money and spend some time helping people in need instead of whining, blaming, and name calling?
Step 1: Stop reading Slashdot
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
I'd buy an island and make a nation out of it. I would live there with the family and my army of 1000 topless female slave-warriors. The island would have a private airstrip and a private jet, piloted by a topless female slave-warrior, that would whisk us around the globe. People would become jealous of my topless female slave-warriors because Grub Island would be the only place on the planet with them.
I would have a lottery with $1,000,000 ticket prices. The prize would be one week on my island with 10 topless female slave-warriors to be at the winner's beck and call. After the winner departed Grub Island, the other topless female slave-warriors would destroy the lottery winner's 10 because they would then be soiled and not worthy of me.
Trolling is a art,
Becoming wealthy (whatever "wealthy" is considered these days) comes with its own challenges.
People with no money have very specific challenges: find food and water and shelter for your family. Everything else is secondary.
People that have a job and shelter but not enough money have different challenges: Buying a car, paying for school, You have enough for basic necessities but not enough for aspiration items.
People with lots of money have unique challenges: Who do you trust? Taxes become problematic. Gold diggers. How do you raise kids without spoiling them?
It seems to me that the sweet spot is around 100K per year. You're not rich but you have enough. In many cities that is enough to buy a nice home and a new car every 4-5 years. It's a nice place to be.
Buy land and start a small hobby farm (very small). Animals and crops require constant attention, you can't ignore them for even a day. Keeps you busy, keeps you grounded, even if you do still get most of your food from a grocery store. He's got enough to bring internet access out from nearby town or city, so he can stay up to date and work for fun instead of a living, until he figures out what he'd rather do instead.
Stop "solving" all your problems with money and pick up a few that require attention and care instead of cash. You can buy the animals, buildings, and tools, but YOU still have to use them or you fail and things die.
The first thing I need to do is hire an accountant so I know how much I actually have. If I do anything else first, I have a feeling a significant portion of the fortune would be gone before I have any kind of understanding of what my tax burden is, and I'd fuck myself right back to poverty.
Next thing I do (after buying a house, of course) is start studying accountancy, because if I've learned anything from reading the news the past several years, it's that NOBODY can be trusted with that many zeroes.
After that, I've got friends who need help, and who deserve it much more than I do. I want to see them happy. Then I can start worrying about businesses and philanthropy and shit like that.
I would be Batman.
then we could all still hang on roughly equal levels.
i'd ONLY have $1.5 billion left to myself, oh noes :-(
you pervert
For me I would do the following: 1) Take a whole bunch of classes - how to do EVERYTHING. Dance, defend a client from a lawsuit, simple surgery, how to play a piano, how to build a car, how to carve a wooden boat. You name it, I want to learn it. 2) Creating a publishing house that makes the decisions on which new book to publish via a combination of crowd sourcing and AI, rather than the current system.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
This is the best answer right here, and it would cure his loneliness, too. Not only do the people who have stuck by you during the hard times deserve the reward, but they're the ones who have proven who you can trust.
I'd have to go Musk and start building my Bond villain infrastructure.
Fleet of cars who's 'owners' don't know are autonomous-check.
Fleet of rocket ships-check.
Doomsday device-check
The question is: Where is Musk's secret lair?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Let's say the GDP of a reasonable country....
more than enough to to never worry about eating dog food when I retire.
I'll pay for schooling of people that cannot afford it. That has the best bang for the buck, I guess.
I'd skim a little off of the top to make sure that I never needed to work another day in my life ever again and then give the rest away. Start with my favorite charities and then, if any was left, spread it amongst some of the more obscure operations.
Then I could do what I wanted rather than what's needed to put food on the table.
1 Make sure I'll never run out of money by doing basic investments.
2 Found my own research lab using the ROI of 1 and have fun doing research without the burden of finding funds for it.
3 No need for 3.
Notch, if you want to try, send a PM ;)
Video of some good progressive thrash music
Money is money. It can't treat a person well and it can't treat a person poorly. People on the other hand is another issue, especially people who you don't know yet who know you (or think they know you).
Money can be buried in investments, or dispersed if you want to go to the trouble too. Bury a person though, that will get you in trouble with the law. Disperse people, and they will think you're antisocial.
I can't honestly say what I would do if I had that much money. I would like to think that I'd bury it in investments, skimming just enough off the top to behave like a typical person. Yet I would do my best to avoid the fame bit. Relationships are awkward enough when you know them and they know you. Having the imbalance where people know you, but not the other way around, is something to be avoided.
Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well, what about you now? What would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well, yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.
Piss people off by spending it, or not spending it, the way I want. Since I'll be dead and have no heirs there's no reason to spend it on others, especially when no one bothered to spend their money on me during my lifetime.
Screw people. We're supposed to be the smart ones. If you want to spend a fortune, make your own. Don't expect someone else to spend their money the way you want.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
It really is difficult to feel for Notch when, by his own admission in that series of tweets, he shows that having the material possessions and lavish experiences that is typical of filthy rich people has been his primary focus. It's myopic, depressing to the point of repulsion, and all-too-typical of the rich.
As for the human interaction element, that's of his own doing and merely an extension of the HAVING ALL THE RICH DUDE THINGS mentality. I wouldn't really care to hang around someone regularly who has some obnoxious, resource-guzzling mansion, replete with luxuries that, frankly, no person really needs. It all feeds into a mental sickness, and the only way he can snap out of it is by his own sheer will--to question himself and why he feels so empty. The answers, while not that difficult, tend to elude those who have relinquished critical thinking regarding their own lifestyle in favor of, "Well, I sure am having a shitty week... time for a weekend bender in Ibiza!"
I hope he's able to successfully reflect on his current life situation and realize that to have "normal" human interaction, you can't flaunt wealth and economically divide yourself from your peers in the numerous ways the rich tend to.
I would just enjoy your life. So he says he found somebody who was afraid of his lifestyle. Find somebody else who isn't. Don't waste your time moping about other people. Find something to do with your life that makes you happy without requiring other people. Somebody like Notch, although rich, isn't a huge face in the media, and can probably stay under the radar in most circumstances. Very few people are actually going to recognize him unless he wants to be recognized.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Most people think they'll be "smart investors", but 70% declare bankruptcy. Higher divorce rates, homicides, law suits, etc.
Stamp out kitten juggling!
love is just extroverted narcissism
Unless you mean "those seeking to enter", then this is yet another call on an "industry" to solve the problems of individuals. Notch can't deal -- Notch's problem, mot "the industry's".
#1 setup an annuity for FSF
#2 look for software projects begging for $ to get going.
#3 look on Kickstarter for projects begging for $ to get going.
#4 become a prophet!
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
after adopting a special needs child from another country... children around the world sorely need so much help..The day I received the money would be the first day of my new job
Shut down my business, buy a winter home, hire a maid. Tell people I'd inherited about 1% of the wealth I had and set up an anonymous non-profit to parse out most the money for education and arts projects I like.
Then go do everything I'm already already doing, except I'd never bother to look for sales. 'Cause, really, I kind of like my life.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
When I was in college, there was a guy who was really wealthy (no idea how much, not billions, but millions I'm sure) --- his parents died young, I think it was an accident of sorts, and he inherited a fortune, or got a settlement.
Anyway... people used him for free beer, parties, food, anything they could get from him. I knew him tangentially because he was a pen and paper gamer, and ran some D&D sessions so we had some common friends.
The poor guy seemed miserable, knowing most people were only hanging out with him for his money, etc. Seriously, he was just a sad sack, seemed depressed and lonely in that existential kind of way. I know people say 'aw.... poor little rich boy', but I really felt bad for the guy. He seemed like a decent enough person, but the money didn't seem to make his life really that much better. Sure he didn't have student loans like I did, didn't have to work like I did -- but I had some good friends, who certainly didn't hang out with me for money (or lack thereof)
'The unexamined life is not worth living' - Socrates
Right now every US presidential candidate needs a billionaire backer to run. That usually means bad things. Maybe Notch and his $$ can balance the scales a bit and back Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren? But then again, I don't know his politics and perhaps this is a terrible suggestion.
"Those that start by burning books, will end by burning men."
Buy every industry in said town. Give loans to desperate people that you know they can't pay back. Buy up all the politicians and the realestate. Become sheriff because that is where the real local power is. Make subtle changes to the town and architecture giving everything a creepy southern gothic kind of feel. Slowly tighten your grip year after year. Ah, it would be heaven.
invest it all in VA Linux Systems.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1) Buy nice house. 2) Buy nice car. 3) Set up a trust for my nephew. 4) Setup an investment account that will payout a few hundred thousand every year for me personally on an average year. 5) Setup a non-profit with the rest, and setup computer labs in high schools and colleges. 6) Teach.
I know we all have our desires and hopes of winning the lottery, but for us slashdotters im sure there are a few indelible things we would absolutely need to do. Ive compiled a list i think best represents the community.
1. replace inefficient and wasteful toilet paper with stack of cash. replace glade plug-in with more appropriate bathroom salvadorian priest to burn myrrh when needed.
2. finally repair faulty kitchen sink with tap that, instead of dispensing Jolt cola as intended, unfortunately just dispenses cold water.
3. finally upgrade from Gentoo on X64 to the intended platform, Gentoo on D-Wave quantum annealer.
4. Notify the zoning board that you will finally come 'up to code' and install the helipad that was intended for the roof alongside the infinity pool that used to be the neighbours back yard.
5. repair the broken outdoor grill with the fully staffed Brazillian churrascaria you'd been meaning to install.
6. kick the disgusting habit of waking up every morning, getting in a car, and driving to work.
Good people go to bed earlier.
- Buy Slashdot: so that they don't need the extra money that have them publish ad-oriented stories, sometimes
- Pay competent consultants and developers to "help" Gnome, xOffice, and a mega bunch of other OSS projects to get managed efficiently/properly
- run for president, as a lot of wealthy people do, I guess
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Suddenly everybody wants a piece of you and you have to distrust their motivations. Because the amount of people looking to sink in their teeth isn't going to be small.
Conversely, how do you expect to have a normal relationship with a non-wealthy person? Suddenly they're trying to keep up with a zillionaire and haven't got the means ... which means they're living on the charity of rich people and whatever their mood does. That tends to be present no matter how much you want it to not be. Get into a fight in some faraway location you can't afford to be in on your own, and you're a nobody.
Get rich over time, and you can build up some friends in the same situation. Get rick quickly and you can't. In which case you better hope your family and your existing friends can cope with it.
I've seen TV shows with some lottery winners ... and they constantly get letters from random people looking to get handouts, or people trying to scam them. Because people are greedy bastards. Oh, and the other rich people want nothing to do with you because you're new money.
I've always said I have no interest in being rich and famous ... I want to be rich and anonymous, precisely because I don't want to deal with this bullshit.
The real question is ... as tragic as this is, how much sympathy do recent billionaires expect from the rest of us? The whole "I'm a billionaire, now what?" is one of those questions which you can't expect a serious or helpful answer from anybody who hasn't done it.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Realize that your life is yours to live. You choose your lifestyle, not the other way around.
I've been my own boss for a while and I've grown a successful company. I'm a millionaire many dozens of times over. I drive an old Volvo wagon I bought used for $2500. I live in a 1500 square foot house. I buy clothes at Kohls. Only a very small handful of people know what I'm worth, and they are sworn to secrecy.
I chose to life the lifestyle of a regular Joe. Here's a step-by-step guide to coming into a lot of money quickly:
1) SHUT THE FUCK UP. Keep it secret to the best of your ability. If you can't, come up with a plan for that. But, do the best you can.
2) Decide NOW what kind of lifestyle you want to live. Think 5 years down the road about the company you will want to keep. Birds of a feather flock together. White people hang out with white people. Rich people hang out with rich people. It sucks, but you have to decide now.
3) Put the principal away, and pay yourself what it takes to live the lifestyle you decided to live in Step 2.
4) Finally, and most important, change NOTHING right away (except, paying off debt is perfectly okay). Stay at your job. Don't run away. Don't take a vacation. Don't throw a party for all of your close friends unless you want to find out how many of them actually aren't your close friends. Just maintain the status quo and make decisions SLOWLY.
That is the best advice I can give, from one rich guy to another.
(1) Buy/build a super-yacht big enough to live on as your home.
(2) Travel the world, taking your home with you.
Requires 'only' a few hundred million to really make it work.
-Matt
A lot of very wealthy people live amongst you and don't appear wealthy, because they save and invest and live modestly.
Your problem is you think affluenza, or sudden riches, means you need to spend like a fish.
Smart people just put all their new wealth into their retirement accounts over a few decades, pay off their car loans, and reduce their mortgages (keeping some allows you to deduct a lot of cool things), while not appearing to be wealthy.
First, if you inherit a fortune, or make a killing on IPOs, do the above. Then figure you'll blow 10 percent of it on silly things. Cut yourself some slack. It might sound fun to buy 10 new coats because you can (and it is kind of fun), but after that initial period you'll realize you don't really need more stuff, or it owns you.
Other things you can do (some of which I've done) are: figure out what your most fun hobby or hobbies are, and pay for Lifetime memberships or access to them. I got SIFF Platinum Lifetime membership, NOW Lifetime, and I was good. Because those tend to be sometimes charitable things (like when I got platinum donor status to some of the local art museums and music events), you may be able to deduct a lot of that.
And then go back to living. Everyone else will be worried about the future, but if you're diversified in sound low-cost mutual funds, you realize you never can spend that much anyway.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
A successful celebrity was once asked if money buys happiness.
Her reply was, "I'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable."
Table-ized A.I.
That actually is a good approach when it comes to meeting people.
Look at the population of a given society and its wealth/income. It's a curve, with more people toward the lower-end of the spectrum. If one wants to function in circles among more people, one's behavior needs to relate and be relatable to those people. On the other hand, there are people that one probably doesn't want to associate with down in that end because they're physical risks or mooches. At the other end there are fewer people, but those people understand the nature of the money and how it applies. The dangerous people there are those that promise to do good for you with your money, but essentially use legal means to steal it.
This is essentially the same kind of problem that the United Kingdom's Prince William had, and there was a lot of time spent courting Ms. Middleton before their marriage. She came from a family that had some wealth, so there was an understanding of money, and my guess is that there was a whole lot of vetting on his side of her side before his side would bless the marriage. They also met in college, which is a very good place for people from disparate backgrounds that otherwise may have something in common to get to know each other, where wealth or the lack of it may not matter as much.
Back to the subject of this discussion, he can either not disclose his money (the approach of the character Tom Bookman had in How To Marry A Millionaire) and court without getting into the details until the relationship seems to be working, assuming that his tastes are still affordably reasonable to the average person so his extreme wealth is not obvious, or he can look for 'society' circles to try to operate in, hoping that despite the smaller candidate pool that he finds people to interact with that he likes, and women that aren't out-for or uncomfortable-with his money. The former is difficult to do because if anyone learns of the wealth the game in that particular scene is up, but being wealthy, it's not hard to stop and start again elsewhere. The latter is hard because there could be a lot of boorish people or a lot of gold-diggers even among the already wealthy.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I'd create a State of Nature to preserve the pre-civil culture of northern Europeans -- not just to "save the world" but because that's the enrivonment I want:
1) Buy up large tracts of undeveloped land in nations, in exchange for low land value taxation, that agreed to let people, on those lands, live by the 7 points of agreements between individuals outlined in the aforelinked blog post on "The State of Nature".
2) Permit any indigenous peoples to remain so long as they agreed to those points, excluding everyone else but invitees of the people in those nature preserves. This includes financing a nature preserve patrols (drones, etc.) to prevent encroachment.
3) Set up a cloning foundation to clone people who have been taken out of the gene pool by the current dysgenic culture -- particularly highly intelligent and attractive females that got conned into giving up childbearing for a "career".
4) Set up a foundation for emergency relocation of population when a host nation violates their agreement to permit autonomy.
5) Invite people I like personally to the nature preserve in which I want to live.
6) Invite other lonely billionaires to live in other nature preserves so they could enjoy the natural healthy relationships with beautiful intelligent women.
7) Do what I can to help Bezos, Musk, et al to reduce civilization's ecological footprint on the biosphere -- preferably by space migration. This involves all manner of technology.
Seastead this.
I'd buy an island off the coast of Italy. I'd find someone willing to spend all my money (which shouldn't be too hard) and I'd use a couple million to create a venture capitalist corporation. I'd hire people to run the day-to-day operations and live on my island away from the world.
If there's any money left, I'd buy a professional sports team.
1) Buy a nice house. 2) Buy a nice car to stick in the garage. 3) Pay off all bills and ex wife. 4) Continue downloading porn when not eating out from my penthouse. 5) Hide as much as legally possible from the mooching meme sensibility used by politicians to gain power. 6) Donate to them, playing their game of paying them to get back out of the way, which is why they got in the way to begin with, using aformentioned meme as hoi polloi fraudulent cover story.
Eventually) Die, and they take a huge chunk of it anyway, having taxed it all once already.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Erm, she's already an ex, there's very little she can do about his change in worth.
You'd lose it all paying bribes before you managed to build your first factory. Every local official wants whatever they can bleed out of you. The third-world is littered with half-finished hotels and other abandoned construction projects.
Required reading for internet skeptics
Two billion dollars will buy you 2 minutes with a senator, 10 minutes with his call girl, and a 30 minute limo ride out of town complete with a police escort....all at the same time!
I would buy /. and make sure questions like these would be relegated to reddit & digg.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
Should it happen, I'd donate all but what I need to live off the interest with a life of luxury (say ~$10million, probably less) -- in exchange for the usual board positions if that's what I'm interested in at the time. It's what several billionaires have promised to do upon their deaths -- instead of passing the massive wealth and all its negatives to their heirs, donate it except for a few million for them to live off of if needed. If you don't want the hassle, get it over to someone who needs it; if you want to maintain control, insist on a board position as part of the deal.
..give 90% of it away; keep what I need for a healthy, sustainable life-style; my favorite charities will be getting the rest in some form.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
the average slashdot reader will behave no differently than any other lottery winner:
poor intuitive math skills mean you don't understand that 1+2+3+4=10. You will over-extend, over-commit and spend yourself into bankruptcy, just like most lottery winners.
Get rid of all debt. Make sure my kids will be financially secure if I drop dead (though that's largely taken care of with life insurance). Among other things, that addresses making sure my kids will not have to worry about paying for college. Reno my condo. Buy a house in Princeton. Give money to close friends (you know, those I've had for decades) and family.
Retire, or seriously cut back the hours working for someone else. Write.
Volunteer time/money/expertise for anti-poverty; healthcare; and guys-not-getting-screwed-when-divorcing-a-crazy-person causes.
Being wealthy is only a burden if you let it be one. If you don't want a bunch of attention, don't buy a bunch of flashy things that will attract attention. If you want to save the world, hire an economist from a university to study ways to maximize the impact my money has in benefiting society.
Take time, travel, learn, become well rounded and interesting. Heck, move to Bhutan and steal from yourself. Build yourself to be willing and able to accept the responsibility that comes with this great power.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
Until one dies of an overdose, one disappears into some kind of cult, half of the rest spend it all and blame you when you won't give them more because now they're entitled. It sounds like a good plan, but it can go bad pretty easily, too.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
Go completely dark.
Hire attorneys to handle ALL your affairs. Carry only credit cards. Stay out of the news.
But you can also have fun anonymously...
Make an arrangements with a car deal to give away cars to people you think deserve it as you encounter them.
Pay the check for an entire restaurant full of people when you leave.
Watch for local foreclosures and intercede on the behalf of those you think are getting a raw deal.
Fund a promising local business for two years.
Of course it goes without saying that you pay off the mortgages of all your relatives and set up college savings accounts for all of your children, nieces, nephews and cousins.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I would have a broadband connection installed at home.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
The biggest issue is if you have kids or not when you come into that sorta wealth. If I had children I would feel some obligation I think to retain said wealth for them and future generations.
Since I don't have kids though I think it would be fairly easy. First a billion dollars is a heck of a lot of money. If I am still a "billionaire" after paying the taxes on the windfall than I essentially have more money then I really know what to do with.
First) I'd probably make a gift to some family members of paying off their mortgages. That will probably run me a million or so. Hopefully that would be a sufficient gesture that they would not resent my sudden wealth and be glad that my good fortune has made what is probably the biggest monthly payment in their lives a thing of the past.
I don't think I'd move or anything but I could probably drop a 100K or remodeling my own place.
I'd certain acquire some new costs like hiring out the law work etc.
I'd probably blow another few hundered K building a bigger garage and picking up four or five fun cars, nothing nuts like a super car or anything stuff I could actually drive, a Tesla, Alfa 4C, Corvette, and couple interesting classics.
I'd travel and go cool places. Invite my current friends to go with with me on my tab. Again though nice hotels, good resturants etc, but no renting out the entire floor or anything nuts.
The rest I probably just live life as I do now with, for the most part. I guess I would on my own projects like OSS stuff rather than work a day job.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Seriously, I would have no such problems with 2.5 billion. it would allow me to dip my toes into many, many things without the worry of financial ruin. I could throw 10-20 million at various projects and get involved with the actual process, and possibly help change the world for the better. I could do things on a whimsy. Shit, I would start another band and tour 9 months out of the year, but wouldn't have to weigh "gas, food, or a motel room because the floor in that house is soaked in cat piss and roaches". (I still wouldn't do a goddamned tour bus though..) But then again, I have very simple "needs", but lots of interests.
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
This problem has a pretty straightforward answer - Just move, and take on a new identity as someone moderately wealthy (ie, no need to work, but not "solid-gold Veyron" level crazy-rich).
Hindsight is 20/20, but I've always thought that were I to come upon a windfall of some large(ish) caliber, I'd likely not tell a soul, and not change my lifestyle significantly and suddenly. Sure it's tempting to run out and buy a Ferrari, but if one thinks about it, those are childish wishes and whims - a lack of self-control, if you will. The first things I'd do is settle all my debts (house, car, etc.), which aren't as visible to others. I'd also start winding down my employment (i.e. 1-month or even 2-month notice).
By simply slowing the transition down significantly, perhaps even "embellishing" the nature of the windfall (i.e. "I just closed a deal that's going to do very well for me over the next 2 years") such that the changes are logical and incremental vs. sudden and drastic, one can avoid such "acclimation pains" in one's social circle.
In the end, if you change your life drastically there's a very good chance you'll run into the same isolation issues - windfall or no. So it's about the (perceived) speed of the climb, not the steepness.
Besides, if you make the change slow it's easier for people to see that you're not changing - just your lifestyle and economic conditions. Less scary that way I think.
PS/ what's he bitching and whining about women for? he can afford any (set of) pornstar(s) he wants now!! :D
Just start worrying what would you do if you suddenly lose it all. Simple.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
You must have enlightened friends and family. Some of my friends are bright, but my family members would blow through $100M in a couple years then be back to zero.
First I would keep my pie hole shut about coming into a massive pile of money. Then since I wouldn't have to worry about where my next meal is coming from I would start running my mouth at work and let people know what I really thing of some of their ideas. There are a couple of people who I think just like to hear their own voice and when you are in a meeting with them they give the impression that you are there to bask in their glory and genius even if they say some of the stupidest shit ever to be utter.
Apart from that get a new car (I'm thinking an M4), get a new truck like vehicle (can't take an M4 out hunting in remote areas), put up a cabin on my recreational property. Although I would like a nice custom made leather trench coat made from that nice thick cow hide that they make motorcycle safety jackets out of. Apart from that I would probably quietly give to various charities, ensure that my children will be well off, and that any of my relatives won't have to worry about school if they apply themselves.
Time to offend someone
So, to me what to do would be simple. Sure, he just won the part of life dealing with having funds to live a life... but is that all there is to life? If you are one to have a religion... I am sure there is plenty to learn there I assume he still "thirsts for knowledge"? I know money wouldn't automatically teach me everything about the cosmos. Isolation? why is he isolating himself? I kinda question the girl that left him because she wanted a more normal person. It sounded like she was concerned about his life style, not his potential life style. That to me doesn't sound like a choice of money, but a conscious choice of living a specific lifestyle. Now, one challenge I could see, he started a company, grew it well, and sold it for a bucket of money. If that was his main motivation in life (work life balance much?) he will need to re-direct his motivation. That is if he looks at it as winning that part of life. Then again I do know entrepreneurs (dealing with much smaller amounts of money) that enjoy building up the company (restaurant/etc), just to sell and start up another. I could imagine many different things I would do, free time to try my hand and research/higher degrees. Also, all my hobbies... I could spend plenty of time there. and since many of those are hobbies that can include people (its not like im just sitting there painting warhammer 40k figures all day long) I would still socialize with others. Frankly I wouldn't move far from where I am now, and would retain my same friends (I am sure they would get to receive some of my fortunate luck too). Honestly, I think I would still want to pursue some work, whether its "real" work or volunteer type work, I wouldn't want to turn to mush.
Step 1 - pay off all debts.
Step 2 - Invest most of it so that it makes me a yearly income that is comfortable.
Step 3 - Troll detroit with all kinds of OCP and "New Detroit" advertising, pay a couple of guys to break into GM headquarters and hang an OCP banner over the GM sign at the top.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
All kinds of triple-deck etc. cheese burgers I've never tried or even imagined, giant sandwiches, 2^12 combinations of pizza toppings, 4000 bottles of red wine (not even really fancy ones, just roughly $10 and up)
I would eat and drink myself to death, but trying to keep it as long and varied as possible.
I find you ideas fascinating, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter....
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Interestingly, it seems he's already tried what I probably would have gone for at his age: Buying a ginormous house and trying to act like a hedonistic big shot.
As a ... more experienced person nearing 50, I think my priorities would be different. Big houses suck. They require continual maintenance, and who's going to be wasting their time shepherding all that? Having to deal with stupid BS little issues all day is precisely what he sold to MS to avoid. The more big expensive crap you acquire, the more effort has to be expended to maintain it all. No wonder he's made himself miserable. I can always trade time for money, and that certainly goes moreso for someone with his new financial resources. Its TIME that is precious.
Today, I'd find a fun interesting place to live, and *rent* myself a place there. Preferably somewhere walkable, so I wouldn't have to maintain a car (gawd, what a time and money sink those things are). I'd probably approach a local charity (like the food bank) and offer to do some free computer work for them. Knowing myself (and as a developer he's probably similar), it wouldn't take long to find some really interesting problem in there that could have wide application.
As for meeting people, how is he going to meet cool new people while locked behind gates in that mansion? Blah.
You are correct that a million will net about $60k. That's in a diversified portfolio of long-term investments, a fairly reliable income. Actually $600K per ten years is reliable - year to years gains will fluctuate and that's okay - your spending doesn't have to fluctuate to match each year.
What will ALSO net $60K spending money is earning 100K, saving 12% for retirement, spending 15% on your mortgage, etc. Once you retire, you're no longer saving up for retirement. If you pay off your house before you retire, you're no longer paying mortgage. You're probably not saving for your kids' college anymore. Therefore a $1 million retirement fund will provide approximately the same lifestyle as a $100K / year job.
This assumes you're under 55 currently, so you don't count on any social security at all. *
* You know based on how people are 55 today that 20 years there will be more 75 year-olds than there is money to pay benefits.
I put $10k into Tesla when it was at about $20. Of course I panicked and sold when it got to about $40. =p Oh well. Even if I'd kept it all, the only real difference in my life would be that I'd be driving an Aston Martin. (No, of course not a Tesla.)
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
Studies have shown that most people would be very happy if their income doubled. But then they get used to the new level and need another double fix. There is never enough money.
I think that the sweet spot is $500k, especially in an urban area. I would never pay a million dollars for my house, but that is what it will sell for.
A large increase in money means moving to a new house in a new social strata. If you are 1000 times richer than your neighbors and friends, life is impossible.
Reading everything is helpful. You learn from Jane Austin that ones "wealth" was not how much money was in the bank, but how much one could spend in a year.
As a hobbyist game developer myself, I know what I would do.
Buy a nice home somewhere, and use most of my free time to make and play games.
But keep a low profile, so I can still take walks, order a coffee and visit wherever I like.
If I was a billionaire I would travel around in disguise and, because it is impossible to help everyone, I would help a number of random persons I would see. Like a homeless man in the street, a single mother on welfare, e.t.c. I would create a company with staff which only purpose would be to help those people to find a home, a job and education.
"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping."
-- Bo Derek
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
I would avoid fame at all costs. In addition, I would do my best to hide how wealthy I was.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is a choice for evil.
for the irresponsible ones anyway
Depends... suppose the Minecraft guy got divorced before he sold Minecraft. The wife can still say he started developing the game during their marriage and she's therefore entitled to some of the proceeds. Weirder judgements have heppened.
I'd purchase a large number of rare and vintage musical instruments and related gear, see that it's all taken care of properly, and build a recording studio where people could record using those instruments.
I wish I could come into that kind of money b/c there is so much I would like to do if I had the resources. For instance, I so much want to "Musk" the housing industry.
and the rest of us will be able to laugh at you forever.
"I would Musk and try to save the world, but that just exposes me to the same type of a$#@%&*s that made me sell minecraft again."
You don't have to try to be Musk. If you don't feel the need to get into that or be that sort of creative, at least you can recognize the people who do/are. Call him. You don't need to buy public shares when you have that kind of money. You invest in other people who are trying to change the world.
Keep some for yourself and enjoy your life while knowing that your money is helping to change the world. Don't like what Musk is doing? He's just an example. Fine something you believe in and invest.
I would blow it on something I found ridiculously cool. Like hardened, high-speed em-drive interstellar probes or something. But to each his own.
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
I had animals as a kid. That's waaaaay too tied down.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
# 1 Pay off all my bills for sure, second get a truck that can pull my new boat OR depending on how much i won buy a houseboat and eat fish and enjoy the rest of my life lol nice dream hu? ya i play the lottery but the odds are super low,BUT ya cant win if ya don't play :} so i at least have some odds
Jack of all trades,master of none
Most of the major banks offer a Private Banking service. Ask about it at your bank (Wells Fargo was a huge help to us). A surprisingly large part of the service consists of specialized staff to help you deal with these issues. You are not the first person, nor the last, to have immense wealth suddenly thrust upon them. The myriad of psychological issues that accompany those windfalls are best dealt with by people who have the experience of dealing with individuals struggling with the unforseen downsides and conflicts. It's far better to be rich than to be poor, but the transition in either direction is not an easy one. Good luck.
- This also lets me know who in my life is a gold digger, and who will continue to treat me the same. I don't want to be a bank, but "everyone gets one"
- my favorite atm is giving $5 starbucks gift cards to parents when their kids are being obnoxious in public, sometimes you just need a break!
- paying electric bills for all customers who are behind
- buying groceries for the people who are clearly just trying to get by
- paying for all the kids in the school to go to sea world, local zoo, etc
in the case of billions, I like the Musk idea - improve the world, help build what you've always wanted. Things get hard and frustrating, but I think remembering to be a normal human and not flaunt your money or lifestyle goes a long way. I also think those hard parts of life is what gives us the most return - accomplishing something hard is far more satisfying than doing something easy.
No, he doesn't. When you are a billionaire, you are not free to do whatever you want to. You cannot travel freely, you need an armed security detail EVERYWHERE you go. You need to live in a secured house/building/whatever. You are very limited in who you can meet and hang out with as most people will freak out and start acting differently when they find out who you are. Your prospects for love and dating are very limited unless you just want a gold digging trophy wife.
Also, there is a real question about your life motivation, when you are a coder with a lot of money. Presumably, he enjoys coding, but why would he do it now that he can hire 100 better coders to do anything he can think of? It makes it hard to want to get out of bed in the morning when you simply don't have any reason to.
Notch, if you are listening, figure out what give you joy in life, and then use the money you have to create and influence things in a good direction. Also, go talk to Bill and Warren about joining their charity or found your own to do some real good for people who have nothing. There are a lot of them in the world.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I'd like to play cars, I'd get a 1986 ford escort and have it fully restored to mint condition. Then i'd sell it to some high schooler for $200 bucks and do the same thing with a 1982 chevette hatchback, a 1987 dodge omni, etc. Just restoring old hatchbacks and minivans, then dumping them out to the market dirt cheap when I'm done playing.
Cheap storage VM.
Wait...what was the question again?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I would buy a controlling interest in the stock of my former workplace, and then indulge in some payback for my former bosses, coworkers and users....
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
There's no law saying that somebody suddenly wealthy has to quit their job, buy a nice car, a mansion, a private jet, etc. Certainly you need to do all the Estate and Tax things anybody with a lot of money needs to do. (The tax part doesn't have to be hard, if you don't mind paying a lot of taxes, the tax forms work just as well even if you enter very large numbers onto them, and the IRS will happily cash your very large check.)
If you manage to come by your money in a relatively anonymous fashion, you don't even have to tell anybody you are secretly rich.
My college professor used to say, "The problems associated with success are preferable to the problems associated with failure, but they are problems nonetheless."
Our town doesn't have a high school, and the elementary/middle school is very overcrowded. I'd start there, and spend extra to get the best teachers.
Give it to me. I hate seeing people suffer.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Renting an apartment within a few blocks of the Royal Mile, of course. Plus a second or third apartment to invite friends and family for their vacation times; I'm assuming there's enough wealth to share generously here. Then on to other events and activities around the calendar and the world, with exceptions for special events (weddings, birthdays, whatever) as they come up. In more practical terms, all of the young generation in that friends-and-family category will get all the education they can get admitted to. Experiences can have a longer-lasting impact than things.
So run it like a business or an investment, with a budget and goals. No investor would hand a brand new CEO $2.5B... they would ration the funds over time. You could do the same with yourself.
For example, put most of the money into a well managed trust and "give" yourself $250K per year as an allowance. You could bump that amount up each year on a predetermined schedule, but you'll probably hit a point where you don't need more. Set a goal that once you've gotten married you'll have access to a one time "payment" of an additional $500,000, perhaps to buy a new house. (You might be financing part of your house... ironic, but it's all part of not being isolated. And your credit score is kick ass.) You first child is born... bump your annual pay by another $50K for each child while your money manager begins automatically setting aside money for college funds.
In other words, live the comfortable life of a trust fund baby, except that you play the role of both parent and child. You will need a reputable firm to handle the details... reach out to other billionaires for recommendations on who to consider for this critical role.
You will probably die with over $2B in the bank, but so what so long as you are happy and you've led a good life? And if you throw yourself into the world (travel, volunteering, parenting, etc.) you will likely discover a cause that you feel is worth of your largess. Don't look for it... you'll know it when you see it.
Turn off the alarm clock.
I think whether or not the world knows who you are makes a big difference. If everyone knows you've got that kind of money, you're kind of stuck surrounding yourself with "flappers" in order to maintain some amount of peace and quiet.
In my case, my first priority would be to stay anonymous.
After that... Well, relatively small amounts of money can make a *huge* difference for some people. A $200 million lottery payout at even a crappy rate of return still gives you a five-figure PER DAY budget without touching the principal. I would make it my mission to give away at least 90% of that, daily and personally. Impossible, perhaps, but probably way more fulfilling than anything else I could do with it.
Ultimately, Heinlein was right when Jubal (in A Stranger in a Strange Land) pointed out that people want to SPEND money, not HAVE money.
Start an internet provider company that provides a gigabit network, and actual customer service. And don't rape your customers with the charges!
First things's first, I'd hire an accountant, a lawyer, and an executive assistant, have them all keep each other in check and keep me financially and legally secure, and let me direct the use of that money more easily than having to spend it all myself. But that settled, I would fix the problems that personally affect me the most, first:
My mom is presently homeless and in terrible physical health, and her mom (my only living grandparent) likewise; grandma at least can stay with another of her kids for now, but I live in a tiny trailer and can't really help mom. But simultaneously, the first childhood home I can remember, near where I live now, is for sale. I'd buy that house in cash immediately and let mom and grandma live there, with in-home nursing care and a personal assistant to help them with anything they need, and instructions to help enroll them both in creative and social programs (painting classes, book clubs, etc) to help bring them both back into good enough mental shape that I can have positive relations with them again.
I'd buy my dad's underwater land off him, and basically redevelop the entire thing into a proper house, rather than the decaying frankenstein partially rebuild mobile home and unpermitted slapdash structures it's made of now. It would include a lot of garden space, so that dad could grow his own food, which he loves to do already, and which would save him a lot of money. I'd probably also buy him a lot of musical instruments, and let him retire to the music he's always wanted to do his entire life.
And lastly I'd buy the property at the top of the hill from where dad lives now, the ruins of the huge old house I grew up in as a kid, before the mountain fell on it. I'd have the whole place rebuilt the way I remember it, and retire there myself. I'd finally be able to live with my girlfriend, and we'd get married and live happily ever after in there.
Of course, new cars and computers and phones and such for all of the above, and physical and mental health care and therapy for everyone involved until everyone's in as good a shape as possible, but that's all trivial on the scale we're talking about.
I'd then invest enough money in some stable long-term investment like index funds, such that the returns are enough to fund the upkeep of all of the above and a comfortable lifestyle for everyone involved indefinitely. I would then spend my time completing the life's work that I've had to put off until retirement.
I'd probably finish the mod for an ancient video game that I never quite completed, and then make another mod for another ancient game that I never even got to start, just for a warm-up. I would likely hire a bunch of my old friends who wanted careers as video game developers to help me with this, and maybe fund a startup for them to bring their own projects to fruition together and realize their own life dreams.
Then I would finish writing my philosophy book (probably hiring a philosophy student or graduate from the local university to be my sounding-board and fact-checker, since I'm so out of practice in that world now). Then I would probably spend the rest of my life fleshing out the speculative fiction series I've been very slowly developing in one form or another my entire life. I'd probably also study a lot on my own, or take classes or hire teachers when I can't teach myself something from books.
I might want to make the personal-funding investment large enough that I could afford to travel while I do all of this, and then I'd buy a boat and sail from port to port along all the coasts (and up all the rivers) of the world, maybe traveling by horseback up the rivers where boats can't fit. Bringing an entourage with me the whole time to make sure we can communicate with the locals, get us through customs, stay out of trouble with the law, don't miss any important sights, etc. See the world, while doing my life's work, since all I need to write is a laptop and I can do that from any hotel room anywhere.
Any money left over would g
-Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
"I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
They'll come back and level your compound with mortars, artillery shells, unguided rockets and so on.
First, I'd hire someone whose entire job was to say "NO" (s/he would be fired for saying anything but "NO"). Then, when someone approached me asking for money, I'd say "I have a person who manages my money and makes my financial decision for me. Here's their number."
Why is there an "insightful" mod and why isn't it "-1"? If I wanted insight, I wouldn't be reading
I would (wait for it...) take a really nice nap.
You know, the first idea isn't such a bad one! More seriously, he has the capital to drive any software development programme of his choice. He could be the next Mark Shuttleworth if he desired it.
If I had the capital, I'd likely set up a small company to do software development that interested me, and which would also be either useful to others (purely philanthropic) or would have some commercial demand too. The kind of stuff I want to do now but either can't devote time to, doing small bits and pieces here and there, or that requires more people than just me. So long as he has some goal to focus on, he can do whatever he wants. And as other posts mentioned, what he's lacking looks like a purpose in life--any purpose is better than wasting the opportunity the wealth brought him. Hell, he could buy many smaller corporations, start/join charities, anything he desired.
Keep it a secret.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Could probably use about $100k myself. That would be plenty to pay off mortgage of this small home here in the backwoods. Hell, maybe splurge a bit and get 2008 model Volvo V70, my dream car. Yes, 2008. The last model that actually looked good. I'd shut up about the money. I'd say absolutely nothing to anyone. I'd stay right here where I live, 360 sq ft is enough for two dudes and a mini dinosaur. The rest... I'd invest in startups and companies that are important to me, some stuff that helps humankind as a whole. Maybe buy enough politicians to have the majority vote and put my own candidate as the president.
Anyone who thinks money can't buy happiness has never bought a week's groceries for a poor person.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
As someone who has little life and a large penchant for daydreaming, I've come up with a rough list of things, in order of priority:
1) Hire an accountant. I would do this before I even collected my new-found wealth
2) Pay off all of my debt
3) Gift large sums to my family, working with my accountant to see as little as possible be eaten by taxes (amount to gift depends on what I receive, but for $2.5B probably a million each sibling (4) and 10-20 million to my folks)
4) Set aside a good amount for long-term living, so that even if I undertake anything and bottom out I still won't need to work at all
5) Find a nice area, probably somewhere 30-60 miles outside a major city, and settle down there (at least, use it as my "home base")
6) Donate vast swaths to select charities. EFF is up there, as is the UCLA. I also have more specific charities that I have personal relationships with, such as a poverty assistance center outside of Detroit, a feline sanctuary outside of Denver, and a cancer research fund that partners through my fraternity.
Once all of that is done I'll probably undertake a large number of economic experiments. Maybe something like MINCOME, but attempt to make it self-sufficient. I've always had a idea of taking the run-down areas of Detroit and turning it into a city of sorts for veterans, offering both housing and employment. These might be separate, or they might be the same. Such a city would also try to implement various "newer" technologies and be used for studying them, such as heavy solar installation and a revamped electrical grid.
Another notion I've long had is a website where people (likely just Americans) can apply for a $1000 grant for anything. Ideally I would partner with various companies to supply whatever was being purchased to help spread money further via sponsorship (and maybe a reality TV series), like if they applied for a grant to use towards a washer/dryer I would just buy the washer/dryer for them.
tl;dr: Pay off my debt, set aside money, they give most of the rest away
100K a year after taxes.
It's bound to go up, but to being "wealthy" means $2-4M in investments to get to that after taxes. Depending on how.
Everything after that is either "invest in the investments" or "pay off the house loan against the line of credit".
Any way you look at it, if you do not want to work, or you do not want to work on something other than "facebook++" for some asshole who thinks he has a magic "get rich quick" scheme, you are at a minimum looking at $4M.
Get involved with helping under-funded important opensource project, like NTP, OpenSSH, and getting hardware into the hands of reputable open source programmers for better support.
1. Put the money in some nice, safe savings and investments, dispersed among a few banks. Or even currencies. It's not the highest return, but it is lowest risk.
2. Quit job.
3. Buy small house. Not a mansion. Just somewhere with spare bedroom I could turn into a workshop.
4. Tell no-one of my obscene wealth.
5. Enjoy a life of doing just about anything I wish with all that free time.
6. Commission huge amounts of furry art, buy myself lots of cool tech-toys to play with, hire professional programmers to work the bugs out of a few open-source projects that are pretty good but could use some refinement. All the little things you wish you could do, but can't afford.
Now, if I have a truly crazy amount of wealth:
7. Commission the construction of the world's largest needle, and rent a camel for a day.
See, his real problem, in my opinion, is that he put the cart before the horse, and made a crapton of money before properly establishing a family life. I'm married, so I don't have to worry about meeting Miss Right. What's more, we have six kids and are barely able to make ends meet -- so now would be absolutely the perfect time to become suddenly wealthy!
Now, if only I could come up with the next Minecraft...
With enough capital to retire off of, I'd probably use whatever was left to help people, to the extent that money can.
Maybe build an apartment building that wasn't being run for-profit to keep rent down for low-income families or something like that.... having come from one myself, I know how much of a difference the availability of stuff like that can make.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Well, forst I would hire an accountant and an a tax attorney.
Then I would give the same % back to God as I do my regular paycheck, but it will be more complicated than just handing a check to my local church.
Then I would pull out enough for myself to pay off my debts and be able to generate 150-200% of my current income, adjusted for the cost of living in the most expensive metro area in America. This will be in the $1-10M range.
Everything else goes to charity, with one catch: if you ask, and I hadn't slready decided to give you money, you just disqualified yourself. If I had decided already, you'll get the low end of the range I was thinking of giving you.
Oh, make that two catches: no publicity as long as I live. A private thank-you letter and a note for the tax man is enough. If you want to name a scholarship, endowed chair, or building after me fine, but please do it over my dead body. :)
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Just an FYI, taxes will take about 50% (more or less, depending on the state) in gift tax. So like, if you ever do have $1.5billion, that's a good thing to know, I guess.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Persson also began hosting wild parties where guests like Skrillex, Selena Gomez, and Tony Hawk would sometimes make appearances.
I'd hire a ninja keep those people out.
And another ninja to beat my ass if I had actually invited them.
I'd move into a house that allowed my wife & kids to have more property for horses & horse related stuff
I'd put in a food forest, silvo pasture & raise some cows, & more pigs.
I'd put in a nice shop, wood working, metal working, laser cutter, cnc, 3d printer or 2. that way I could get back into wood working & just play doing stuff
I'd probably also take a really long trip (30-60 days) with my family to see the US,
I'd spend more time with my kids camping, fishing, horseback riding, etc.
Then possibly go walkabout when their older.
TKrabec Pahh
I would use my technological/business skills to properly and permanently correct the wrongs around me, except that I would make sure the combine it with things that I love. So for instance where I once lived the local aid organizations were always begging for their local food banks. There are families who need food, this is a terrible thing in a modern country. Thus I would spend my money buying up some prime farmland where half of it would be to grow food, and the other half would be leased out to create a revenue stream to fund the growing half.
Then in the downtown I would do the same pairing. One property would be purchased to lease out and fund the food bank operations, while another building would be the food bank.
The key would then to completely opensource the above model.
The same sort of thing could be done with homeless shelters, research organizations, etc. This way where the government does not charge the wealthy elites enough taxes, I would just charge them rent.
The key would be that I would aim to charge the wealthy money that then goes to fund the worthy. Other examples would be to have a luxury hotel that funds a rehab center.
One other odd thing that I would set up is a medical research charity where my money covers all administrative costs. Donor money then 100% goes to actual research. Except that I would not spend the money with established researchers. I would only hire researchers who were working on their PhD or had graduated within the last 5 years. They would then get 10 years of funding that could only go to people meeting the same PhD conditions. At the end of 10 years they would either have delivered or failed. Close would be something for another funding organization to look at.
Thus donors to the charity would know that exactly zero of their money would be going to a bloated administration or to "established" researchers, many of whom have only established themselves as really good at getting grants. The 10 years would allow these young researchers to break the chains of convention and ignore their established peers and potentially explore areas that would be impossible if their established peers had any say. There would also be little auditing except to watch for violations where the designated researchers were somehow forced to hand the money over to others or egregious fraud.
Nope, and I like it that way.
Slashdot is forum of the ancient internet and is modelled after usenet. Comments have subjects, just like a usenet thread. And once you post something, it's out there, just like usenet. Sure they could let you edit the post, but then you could make the replies seem stupidid or nonsensical.
I like it like this.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Actually, a million cash would be about enough to fund a $60k a year income assuming you can get a good rate of return (6%...crazy these days).
Forgetting about taxes and inflation? To turn $1M into $60K/year of income you'd need a rate of return closer to 10-13% or so every year without fail. If you get less then your rate of return has to be higher the next year because you'll have dipped into your principal or you'll have to live on less for that year. Some years you will be almost certain to have a negative return.
Sure, even rich people have problems, but, I'll take those problems over the problems poor, (and working), people have.
To anyone newly super-wealthy out there, having problems making new friends, let me offer a solution. Fill up my bank account with a few million, and as two former poor persons, we should have a lot in common. I'm intelligent, but not a nerd. I have lots of ideas on how to enjoy life, and would be happy to help out. No, I'm serious. PM me.
-- sudon't
Air-ride Equipped
In coastal Connecticut, $100K a year isn't enough to buy a decent house if you're trying to raise a family at the same time.
Quite so. You can find a place to live but it's going to be a dump relatively speaking.
$200K might be enough to get a nice home around here, but $100K a year here is like making $40K a year in a rural area.
It's worse than that. Houses along the Gold Coast area cost something like 3-5X what they do out in the midwest where I live. A house that would cost me $100K in Michigan would cost me something like $400K+ anywhere along the so called Gold Coast. I know because I almost moved there at one point and went house shopping. The house I have now would have cost me well over a million anywhere remotely close to Greenwich CT.
If I were uber rich that would be my goal. More than all the houses, the planes and exotic cars, the sports franchises, having a foundation with the means to do lasting good on a globally significant scale and leaving a legacy rather than just an estate would be so fulfilling. Well it would for me anyway.
Not a big Microsoft fan, but I absolutely admire Gates for his foundation's work. Given it was MS that bought Minecraft I'm sure Bill could give him some pointers.
These days, the milk is free anyway if you know how to get it. No reason to buy a cow when you can grab one off the street for free.
And how exactly do you get it for free anyway? Some men are just much more gifted with talking to women than others; AFAICT, getting "it" easily as you say seems to involve spending a lot of time at bars, and being outgoing and confident. When you don't drink and are introverted, this isn't so easy to do. It's still not hard to get free sex even if you're an introvert who doesn't like alcohol or socializing that much: you can just use Tinder, but it requires lowering your standards a lot. and "liking" all the women who are 20 years older and/or 200 pounds heavier than you. I'd rather play Minecraft.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that it's impossible to meet a nice and attractive woman as an not-terribly-social introvert and create a permanent relationship with her, but you're talking about quick sex or a "hookup" as they call it these days, something altogether different than a typical courtship.
experience exactly what he is feeling
Misery loves company.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
ps - I'm not including taking care of an older generation, as many others have mentioned, because my older generation is gone; I *am* the older generation.
I would buy the best politicians my money can afford, converting some of my money into power. Then I'd use this power and money to push humanity to the stars. I don't care who does it - Musk, NASA, or someone else. We are going there and beyond and/or die trying. I'd also be on one of the first flights out.
Why? Because nobody remembers the person who bankrolled Christopher Columbus.
That's the problem, it's a toss-up.
Also, your results are likely to be very different based on several factors, such as the geographic area you're in (and the political leanings there), and state law.
What state/region are you in? And how bad was your wife? The typical complaint is that the only way men get full custody is when the wife is basically a crack whore, judged mentally incompetent, etc.; cases where it's so completely obvious the woman is unfit for custody that they have to give it to the man or else put the child in foster care.
for me... (1) get rid of the trashmobiles we've got. (2) set up a managed trust for a relative that is indigent and has physical issues. (3) upgrade the security system slightly at home. (4) develop a charity to pass a bill or so around where it's needed in places not covered by safety nets. (5) and NOW we have time to dump a week or two at a time into Habitat for Humanity, get some green space up in neighborhoods that badly need humanizing, stuff like that.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
I offer to solve all of Mr Persson's problems caused by excessive money. I can solve them all by tomorrow, for the low low price of 2.5 billion dollars.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
You'd need an entire army to do that. A small militia of private security contractors isn't going to be able to handle the police and army even in a country the size of El Salvador.
The way to be treated like a normal human being is to live like one. I would buy a modest but nice house on a bunch of land in the country, buy some cars and toys, nice stuff but not exotic or ultra extravogent. In addition to that be generous with my time and cautiously generous with my money. When people see that you are wise (not a pushover) and normal they treat you as such.
Send all your money to me and you will be happy again.
love is just extroverted narcissism
I've heard stories of Silicon Valley engineers saving up their money, retiring to Mexico or Central America in their late 50's, building a mansion, and marrying a sweet little girl from the nearby village. The family consents to this because they will get the old man's money when he dies.
making decisions with what to do with a large windfall. I inherited $1.2 million last spring and I am actually more miserable now than I was last year. Suddenly you have to hire lawyers and accountants. No matter how much you try to keep a lid on, relatives and co-workers do find out...then they start dropping not so subtle hints that they could use some it...
The only things I could think of to do if I was suddenly wealthy is a)get a $2500 gaming PC so I can max out the new games, and b) get a Suzuki G-48W Gregoire Maret signature chromatic harmonica (http://www.suzukimusic.com/harmonicas/g48w/).
The rest I'd turn over to my wife and daughter to do with as they please. Other than that, I'm already pretty satisfied.
You are welcome on my lawn.
then you should be reminded about how horrible you are.
Donate it all to a charity.
A charitable foundation that you create yourself and whose only purpose is to support poor YOU.
So you get the benefit of being known for donating all your billions to a charity, people think you're poor and yet, you can offer yourself anything you want.
Plus, depending on how and where you do it, it can save you tons of taxes.
With 2.5 Billion Dollars? I'm too lazy to do the real math, but im guessing you could pick one random person and give them $100,000 every day for the rest of your life and still have enough money to live comfortably.
OR you could hire enough people to completely buy out the next iDevice release on opening day, and light the whole batch on fire, just to watch the hipsters cry about it. 453 retail Apple stores, 100 people per store, 20 devices per person, $700 average retail would cost you just over $634M. You wouldn't completely buy them out, but it'd be enough to make a pretty little dent. (This seems to be an XKCD "What if" submission waiting to happen... "What would it take to buy every iPhone available on release day? And what could I do with them once I bought them")
..and how good you are investment and taxes.
I think unless you have an after-tax one-time amount in excess of $10 million dollars or more, you're unlikely to live better than a basic upper-middle class lifestyle.
I did a spreadsheet based on investing all of it into tax-free munis (because they're safe, and I can eliminate tax questions) and only have to make rough guestimates on investment yields and inflation.
It isn't hard to outspend your capital and dividends over time, especially if you dump a bunch of money on property.
I put in $200 million in principal, less $25 million invested in real estate and I run out of money in about 30 years, but it does require spending about $5 million a year in cash, which wouldn't be hard to do if a person liked to travel -- a private jet to Europe from NYC could be close to $100k to charter. You could throw out a million per year easily flying private aviation.
Want to own a yacht? Very easy to blow $3 million on a pretty basic motor yacht (Hinckley T55, you can drive it yourself, no crew or certification required) and not hard to see spending $50-70k per year on fuel and maybe another $100k on services for it.
And $25 million doesn't buy you fantasy real estate, either. NYC condos go way past that all the time, and if you factor $25 million buying you more than one property you're getting into pretty ordinary luxury if you divide that by 2-3 unique properties and they would all need maintenance and caretaking.
Notch was married for, but for a year. He got married after Minecraft took off though, or just after he formed the Mojang company.
"1) Pay off the mortgages of family and maybe friends."
Why don't you feed all the neighborhood cats while you're at it, since you like having extra mouths to feed...
I would buy anonymity. Hire a team that would go through and erase all evidence of me. In panopticon we now inhabit, complete anonymity would be the most valuable thing in the world. People, corporations, governments, they'd have no idea I exist, where I live or what I do. I don't know if it's possible, but with a few billion I'd give it a shot.
Start some project and work hard for it. You will know why you wake up and you will also find interesting people working in the field.
I would donate money to an organization that freely distributed birth control devices. Overpopulation strains the supply of natural resources like water, strains the food supply (farms being bought to put in housing), increases pollution, etc. And parents that don't have huge numbers of children can better care for their children. Lessen overpopulation -> help with many other problems.
This is the best answer right here, and it would cure his loneliness, too. Not only do the people who have stuck by you during the hard times deserve the reward, but they're the ones who have proven who you can trust.
I think even the best of friendships might end up weird if sucking up to you might mean another drop of many millions of dollars. And many people will feel quite obliged by something like that, even if it's a gift. And some feel unnaturally compelled to match spending habits even though they clearly can't afford it, though I suppose not with a billionaire. Sure, some people are welfare queens and will take what they can get but many also don't want your charity. It's always easier to peer with your peers, which is why rich people tend to lump together.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Actually the 6% number is net of inflation. Over the long term, stocks tend to return about 9% including dividends. Some calculate 10%. On average, bonds yield about 6%-7%. So the gross yield on a balanced, diversified portfolio will be about 8 or so. Subtract inflation and you get 6%.
Also, as one might expect, an overall price increase (inflation) tends to correlate with bond and stock prices rising too. So inflation serves to dampen volatility a bit. That is to say, when inflation is high, returns tend to also be high, so net returns are more consistent than gross.
I find it funny that a guy who got rich selling software that lets people explore their creative side chose to purchase a home rather than build one. I'd buy a $250k home to live in for the year or two it'd take for my dream home to be built then I'd give the $250k home to a friend. I always wanted to sit down with a pad and pencil and just draw out whatever I felt would be awesome for a home then give it to an architect to make realistic plans from. That'd be so awesome. I would, of course, build a top end IT infrastructure in my home and a ballroom sized LAN party center. I'd also be a philanthropist. I make $90k a year now, and I'm 40 so I figure if I calculate to 100 years old (unlikely I'll last that long) giving myself a $10k raise every 5 years I'd need $8,910,000. So I set ten million aside in a safe investment fund, maybe convert some of it to commodities to be safe then the rest I could just go nuts with. Help a bunch of people. Rather than just buy people homes and cars and that kinda thing I'd like to be the "debt angel"; pick needy/struggling families and pay off whatever debts they have so they can start clean. Doesn't really do any good to buy someone a Bugatti Veyron if they can't afford insurance or maintenance. Oh yea, speaking of cars.. I'd buy a bunch of cheap supercars (i.e. not Veyron level, more like Gallardo level) then rent them out at reasonable costs so fellow car guys who can't afford to own something like that can at least have fun with them on the weekend :) Yea, they'll likely get trashed but with 2.5 billion in the bank that wouldn't really be a problem lol.
Regarding friendships and such, that may be a problem if the billions fall to a teenager but at forty I already have a handle on who my friends are so that wouldn't bother me.
I'd travel for a while but I'd also go back to school and learn a bunch of stuff I never thought I'd have time to learn. I'd become a pilot. I'd learn to scuba dive. I'd browse through class catalogs and just start taking classes that sound interesting or travel and take classes from professors I find interesting.
If I were him I would maybe would just not do ostentatious displays of wealth such as ridiculous mansions, bugattis etc. Put the money away, drive around in a GTI, etc. Not saying I think there is anything wrong with being wealthy or that people should generally hide it. Saying that if one doesn't like the kind of attention that it's attracting, then don't have it out front and center. Have yourself be the first thing people encounter rather than your wealth.
I guess part of why people find these discussions so interesting is the fact that there are so many different angles one can take, and still sound logical and "correct".
(I mean, from a purely practical standpoint - it's probably among the bigger wastes of time we could engage in discussing. What are the chances I'll ever personally have such a financial windfall? I barely ever even play the lottery. Pretty sure I'm not alone in that realization.)
Regarding Notch spending all that money on a huge, fancy home though? It's funny, because I've met several older and very wealthy people in the past who advised me that a big house is *exactly* where I'd want to put a big chunk of my money, if I was in that situation. Your argument against doing so makes lots of sense to me. But at the same time? A home is normally the single biggest item a person spends their income on, and with good reason. Whenever you're not at work (and even then if you work from home), you're probably living in your house if you're not out running errands or doing something for entertainment. Your garage or carport on your home serves as some protection and a parking space for your vehicle(s) too. And the land around your house might be used for such things as growing a garden or other hobby activities. In other words, you get a lot out of the purchase. Most other things you buy depreciate rapidly. Even if you spend money keeping them looking like they're brand new "out of the box"? Their resale value plummets as the years go by. With a house, not so much. You *might* wind up with a poor resale value, but that depends largely on factors you have some control over when making the initial purchase (such as the location and what's trending around it). Choose location wisely, and chances are quite good your house will fetch at least enough on the open market to keep up with inflation, no matter how long you live in it first.
IMO, Notch is a somewhat unique individual anyway, in that he's very introverted and quite possibly suffers from at least a mild form of Asperger's. I think your typical coder/developer who found him/herself in his situation with a property like Minecraft would have simply been driven to keep building the product and adding onto it, as its popularity soared. Most of us know, deep down inside, that we probably only get a few chances (at most!) to do something in life that really has an impact and matters to a large number of people. Many people with kids would say their offspring counted as one of those opportunities. But otherwise? Most of us just hope to work for a company on some sort of project that has importance, so we can say we were "part of it". It's rare to embark on a project by oneself that achieves that level of notoriety. I have a feeling Notch's misery is mostly self-inflicted, and doesn't *really* have a lot to do with the fact he attained wealth.
Set up an account that transfers to you $100K, adjusted for inflation, every year, for 40 years, and which you cannot change afterwards. That's $4M. You may live longer than that but you'll need to save. Form a research/charity/whatever organization of your liking -- say, to finance teleportation research -- where you are on the board with 25% of the vote and transfer the rest of the money to this organization. Announce that to everyone, so your life is back to normal, you'll still find incentive to work, and you may contribute to something exciting.
You might enjoy reading "The Millionaire Next Door", by Thomas Stanley. He writes about his study of wealthy people and what they are like. He emphasizes that many of them avoid flaunting their wealth and more or less blend in with their neighbors. Best of luck to you.
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
I'd pay off my mortgage, remodel the house a little bit to make it more usable, and look around for a reasonable lightly used car to replace my wife's aging vehicle. Then I'd help my siblings (and my wife's) out by paying off mortgages, school debt, and the like. I'd set up some sort of financial structure to make sure that my wife and, should they come along, my children would live without financial stress for the rest of their lives after I pass away. And a goodly chunk right off the top would go to my church and another religious organization that was very important in my life.
After that, I'd take up a bit of travel. I'd take lots of guitar lessons and buy more music equipment than someone of my skills can reasonably justify. I'd set up an endowed foundation to perpetually help fund the type of charities and other organizations that I think need supporting. And maybe get back to taking dance lessons regularly. I'd go to more concerts, and pay for better seats and the occasional meet-and-greet. And I'd spend time developing an open-source project idea that I've had for several years. And I'd probably pay someone else to mow the lawn, tend to the flower garden, and clear the driveway of snow.
Cyrano de Maniac
I would start a Manhattan like project aimed at developing a programmable self replicating machine. Imagine an atomic level 3D printer. A flat panel one side is a digester the other side is an extruder assembler. Folded out from the edges would be solar panels. It would be able to replicate using sunlight and consuming trash, basic raw materials and have the ability to transmute elements when needed. As the number of machines continues to grow they would switch from building duplicate machines to homes, cars, roads, dams, water purification plants, power plants, farms schools or whatever mankind needs here on earth. Once everyone's needs are satisfied it would switch to building rockets to send itself into space where it would build human habitats on the moon. Then on to Mars to terraform the planet. Next out to the asteroid belt where it would consume asteroids to build seed ships for the trip to other solar systems. Even if the project failed it would likely result in some amazing technology.
I had a decent layoff package about 10 years ago, and it was great. I spent almost a year living out of my truck going from rock climbing spot to rock climbing spot. I was happier and healthier than during any other similar stretch of time in my life. Right now I don't want more money, I want more time. I would love to be able to go do the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and spend a lot more more nights hanging in a portaledge on side of El Cap. I'd love to spend more time with my wife and kid too. Heck, just being able to hang out by a fire ring in Joshua Tree National Park without a vacation countdown clock in the back of my head would be a huge life improvement.
I honestly enjoy my work, but I have shown myself that I can be even happier not working just fine for a pretty long stretch. If I could have 3 months off a year I could stop bumping into burnout so often. My real fear is that by time I can retire, or at least slow down the hamster wheel I am stuck on, I will not be able to physically do the things I really enjoy anymore. Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets?
I retired and founded a charity "Kawaza School Fund" that supports a school in Luangwa Valley, Zambia. We are a small charity but everything we can do to help these children is greatly appreciated. It's amazing what just a little help can do for people with so little.
Notch's Mojang was supposedly different from your typical greedy corporation and it was more family. In the end he sold out and left all his employees hanging. Out of that $2500 million dollars, would it be so hard to allocate $50 million into a trust fund such that every one of his 50 employees could have an interest-only income of $50,000 per year indefinitely? Yet he couldn't even sacrifice 2% of his payout?
Well of course I'd have to be original and find myself in the privileged position to send out a satellite to space to be able to monitor all human activity on the planet so I can watch everyone else do nothing instead. Since I can't be quite sincere with my feelings given the paranoia of people's eyes on my wealth, I would just use all the pent up anger and unexpressed love to see if I can influence others outside the scope of reasonable sensory input. Such as putting an extra dot on your T.V., or playing the sound of a bird that lives near your home every time you open the door to leave your house, speeding up your computer fans and what-not, all in a reasonably dismissible manner to satisfy those ignored feelings. This would make me be in a position to scare my new billionaire friends (since they would think I know everything) and given the God Mode view I have in other people's lives, it would give others the feeling of my superior position in society. Yea, that sounds like a good plan. All so one day future generations would look back and say, "Wow, that guy, he really made it good in life, he could watch me try!" That's what we're all aiming for here folks. The stage of life! And less fortunate are the non-volunteer cast! What could be better? Minding my own business? Falling in love? Raising children like every other mammal on the planet? Naaaah, that's for ugly and poor people. Screw those guys.
I have isolation issues already, believe me. If I was mega wealthy I would just go ahead and have those issues in Hawaii during the time I would usually spend at work.
I have no doubt that being mega-wealthy introduces its own set of problems, but that's a set of problems I'm definitely willing to try on for a while. At the very least I would have more free time to travel.
With the collapse of capitalism in full swing (except in isolated parts of the US and Germany) I'd probably go back and finish school - economic, politics, and economics. Then I'd start a worker self directed enterprise (WSDE). I might even do that anyway.
http://www.unfocus.com/
For starters, I could buy the name brand mac and cheese any time I wanted, not just on special occasions.
People will "LOL" at this.
It is a very real issue for those of us who grew up poor.
On special special occasions, you could include 1lb of ground beef.
Like once a week. Most rich people used to be incredibly poor people who will Never NEVER again be in that position.
Uh... LOL. Sorry.
I know, but here me out before you judge. A windfall would free up my wife to know she wouldn't be working a low-wage job until she's 60+ just to keep the health insurance, and it would free me to not have to give up my dreams due to having to pay alimony.
Money can't buy happiness by itself, but this would free both of us up to do the kind of things that can bring happiness, even if we're not doing those things together.
I am not a sig.
I would definitely start donating huge sums to random slashdot posters ;)
I'd give a huge chunk of it to the FFRF.
Bank away around 10% for me. Then Musk the rest. I would figure out what problem I wanted to solve and see who's leading the charge. Make sure there's money to make it happen.
I'd go with printable organs and invest in research there.
Invest in the Chinese stock market. Wealth is no longer an issue.
Have gnu, will travel.
The dude was head of a company that made one of the top-selling software packages of all time. He sold the company to Microsoft.
When someone googles your name and they get "minecraft creator sells to MS for $2BN", there is no way to not tell people.
Furthermore, when you're worth that kind of money, you *have* to change your lifestyle for personal safety.
Please help metamoderate.
Here is a very abbreviated timeline of events, from a couple different wikipedia pages:
2009-05: Mojang founded and Minecraft first publicly released.
2010-06: Alpha version of Minecraft released
2011-01: One million copies of Minecraft sold
2011-09: First Minecraft convention
2011-10&11: Official release of Minecraft on PC, Android, and iOS, four million copies sold.
2012-05: Minecraft released on XBox 360, sold over 400,000 units within 24 hours.
2012-05: Over $1 million in merchandise sales.
2012-06: Minecraft Lego sets released.
2013-12: Playstation 3 version released.
2014-09: Playstation 4 and XBOne versions release.
2014-09: Sale of Mojang to Microsoft for $2.5 billion announced.
2014-10: 60 million copies of Minecraft sold.
So i'd hardly call this "suddenly" becoming wealthy, it's not like he won the lotto or anything. It involved a lot of hard work (albeit with an even larger amount of luck) over half decade. He probably became a millionaire sometime in 2011, though the writing was probably on the wall in 2010, and there was a lot of news about him becoming a multi-millionaire in 2012. (And according to the reports i've seen Notch is actually worth about $1.5 billion now, not $2.5 billion. Presumably due to a combination of taxes and not being the sole owner of Mojang.)
I'm sure it may have seemed like it all went by in a blur to him, but if he wanted to work on maintaining normal relationships with the people around him that's something he should have been doing the entire time and it's going to be hard to start now.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
I would buy / lease an island. Move to it. Say my final goodbyes to humanity. Buy a rather large telescope.
Maybe open an endangered animal preserve on the island with me.
( Dino's optional )
Food / supplies can be air dropped periodically. Get a pilots license for when you have to venture back to civilization.
Retire. Enjoy life as it's meant to be instead of being a wage slave who spends their life doing nothing but sitting in a cubicle, working to pay off some debt.
Travel, see how the rest of the world really is vs what the media tries to portray. Keep a low profile, be humble.
Maybe start another Nobel prize sort of thing for stuff you consider important. Try to make a difference in the lives of those who aren't as fortunate. Disease research, fresh water projects, clean energy research, etc. There is an awful lot wrong with the world that funding can help with. I wish the folks who keep buying yachts, mega-mansions, and their seventh gold plated Ferrari would understand that concept. :|
I mean, seriously, how much money do you need to live an amazing life for the rest of your days ?
Figure that out, then become a name that folks will remember for making positive things in the world a reality instead of the usual ultra-rich and greedy we usually get.
First I'd setup a game store, lots of tables, make it a great community place to discover and play.
Second, I'd be writing open source software, kinda like I do now but picking my own projects. Hacking ART or the soon to be released source for swift on Linux.
* Donating money to opensource projects
* If I have enough money, buy some interesting commercial projects and make them opensource
* Donating money to books (scientific, education one) sharing community
* Buy rare books, expensive books, valuable books and upload for every one
Hmm, think again:
* Hire some talents to write softwares for me
* Buy companies that could make me more wealthy
* Buy major publishers and rise the price of books (when they are all owned by me)
Hmm, I want more:
* Hire some talent to build terminators for me
* Buy oil, weapons firms that could make me more powerful
* I don't read book anymore.
Ah, in first world, it's called 'lobby', right.
I feel sorry for Notch.
He was pretty much conned into selling his beautiful creation to one of the most evil technology corporations in history. Although he was very well paid for it, it must be heartbreaking for him to think what will almost certainly happen to his project in the years to come.
Has all the money he could ever need. Still not happy. I wonder why.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Mostly just more skydiving and less working for douschebags. Having to work 40 hours a week to support my hobby, I've got several more years flying a wingsuit and jumping from a plane before I feel comfortable getting into BASE. And most of the good BASE jumping is Europe. Barring accidents, I think I could easily spend a couple of decades at this hobby, even if that was all I was doing.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
1. I'd pay the folks at the Genode project whatever it took to produce a live CD bootable image, and keep them doing it with every new release. (genode.org if you care)
2. I'd see if the silly idea I had in college for an FPGA replacement on steroids would actually work by designing the chip and having it fabbed... then fixing the bugs until it worked right. (bitgrid.blogspot.com if you care)
3. I'd redo the house, install enough solar to power everything, and build a laboratory with a machine shop.
4. I'd build my own locomotive to run out at the Heston Steam Museum (either diesel electric, or just electric)
4. I'd dig to the bottom of the cold fusion thing, and see if it really works.
So he's a geek programmer. He probably spends some time on IRC. Maybe just start over with a new alias, on a new channel. He can make new nerd friends and nobody has to know he's rich. Once you've got a connection with people you might be able to get past the money issue by just grounding them with whatever conversation made you friends in the first place. Just laugh it off, so to speak.
0. Avoid fame at all costs. It ruined Notch's, Nguyen Hà Dông's, and many others' life.
1. Buy a large-enough plot of land and anonymously transfer its ownership to my mother.
2. Tell them that I got a job abroad in [insert developed country name that's *not* the U.S.] so they finally leave me alone.
3. Fix my teeth.
4. Learn that country's language.
5. Actually find a job there.
6. Buy a decent house there.
7. Become a citizen there.
8. Find a lonely single woman. Date her. Marry her.
9. Donate anonymously, mainly to educational non-profit projects in my country. Never disclose my identity.
10. Spend the rest of my days as a writer, cartoonist and hobbyist.
--- Sueños del Sur - a webcomic about four young siblings
Good advice (for someone who barely sees 100K).
Now for the fourth (unless I'm terribly bad at counting) thing to do, after fixing whatever legitimate financial problems your close friends may have. Don't go for poor-neighborhood philanthropy. A few billions might not even be enough for Bill Gates philanthropy. I think your best bet is really to Musk (v) it, pick a few technological projects that can benefit from a few hundred million of "concentrated" funding.
To take the Elon Musk example, do you think his wealth would have made a bigger difference if he spread out the billion or so he made from Paypal onto dozens of Kickstarter-sized projects as opposed to his initial "focus" on two or three flagship projects, namely cheaper access to space, electric cars and perhaps solar power (I think this came later)?
Good, can you submit it please? Randall has been too long in putting up his next instalment after "Jupiter Descending".
I think we should fork Patreon and make Patriarch that the "SJWs" (I hate that word) can use to acquire funding - it would just be an amusing site and likely attract all sorts of interesting emails. Unfortunately, I suspect that it would be filled with MRWs (I hate that word too) who do little but antagonize their enemy.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Invest most of it in low-risk funds, live modestly, spend on the occasional shiny new thing, and take care of my family and friends. use my time to learn new things, travel, pick up a hobby. I guess being antisocial and unambitious makes it easy.
-It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
As someone that could be considered a nomad and has moved countries, you don't need much money to move. You can even move regularly if you wanted. You have to be willing to travel and move light though. It's also going to be out of your comfort zone, because you would need to go ahead with a plan that has limited visibility in the details behind it.
Get a job in Germany, get a credit card, pay off your monthly expenses on the credit card, pay off the credit card every month (build up your credit rating for four years), save up for a deposit (for four years), get a mortgage for your house. These are things you can do.
Wrong, it's public universities and enrolment, administrative fees are not free. That said, it would likely cost for food, rent etc. about 10,000 Euro a year. You cannot make use of the welfare system while studying. Above undergraduate qualifications, you have to meet even more conditions to avoid necessity to pay a variety of fees.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
I bought 2000 shares when they were at about $24. I still have them. I've been pondering moving away from Tesla but I kind of want to wait until the middle of next year to see where it goes. I'm pretty sure that the value will not drop to the point where I would be selling at a loss and I expect to see a decent growth between now and the middle of next year.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I might start up my own non-profit. Or I might start my own for-profit business. Normally that would be financially risky but...hey...billionaire. Then again if I'd already started my own business and had it be wildly successful, which is why I'm a billionaire in the first place, I admit I wouldn't be as motivated to try it again. Might just stash 50 million somewhere and give the rest away. 1% interest (after inflation) would be $500k/year.
That sounds like a great idea. Then Microsoft can sue him right back into blissful financial oblivion.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
ProTip: Posting a response to your own meaningless ramblings proclaiming them "profound" does not make them so.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
For the cost of a .22 round, you can take it out behind the shed and put it out of our misery.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
I'd take the crapshoot and try to fund all the low cost fusion projects that are out there. There's about three promising ones now. Polywell positive net fusion going to cost $100 million to build a working reactor? Done. Hell I'd allocate $250 million to that project alone. Why not take the crapshoot with 1/10th of the 2.5 billion. It's not like you're going to run out of the other 2.25 billion any time soon. If Polywell doesn't work out, put another 200-300 million into other fusion projects. If those all fail, abandon fusion research and work on something like robotics/automation or space travel. Pretty sure you could re-purpose designs/technology from the Apollo missions at a much lower cost than the government will to get your own moon mission going. Most of the space innovators etc don't have the balls to try those projects now because they care about keeping their billions in the bank.
Why wait until you're rich?
Get started right now. Sounds like the law would be on your side. Maybe decide that you're okay with losing your job and finding a new one, so the fear of want is gone.
He sounds like an evil ass. Smush him. It's easier than you think, because you'll have pretty much everybody on your side, even people you may not know about yet.
Given a very large sum (say $100,000,000), you could easily live well and still retain most normal relations with people around you. Invest $10mil quietly in a personal heavily diversified portfolio through 2 different agencies (of solo if you have the chops). That should be more than enough to support you for the rest of your days without even touching principal. You could then quietly pay off all of your Big Debt (house note, car note, student loans, credit card debt, etc). After your big debt is gone, living expenses are exceptionally cheap. You could easily afford a modest 2 bed /1 bath house/condo in a nice/mostly nice neighborhood. You could drive around in a mostly new but not 'new' reliable car. In other words, your appearance and lifestyle can be very comfortable but never betray your actual finances. Going 'grey man' as is often thrown out there. The rest of your cash could be used to do lovely and interesting things.
For example, you could have a company that donates larges sums to life saving ventures like cancer research, etc through a shell company (think Delaware corp to preserve YOUR anonymity). Imagine what 20 or 30 million in a large high dividend portfolio could do donating yearly to these causes. At this point, you wouldn't even be using half of the above mentioned $100 mill but you could be making a huge difference and still maintain your anonymity.
You could quietly fund local art galleries, online radio stations, NPR, local and regional charities. You could fell ALL of the poor in your area....forever. End homelessness locally. Be the deciding monetary tipping point for localized/regionalized green energy. And you could do all this anonymously
Throwing money at organizations wont' make the world better automatically, but I'd like to think that a few 100 million towards the eradication of cancer might be worth the time, money, and effort. And that's just one worthy way to 'spend it all' and still maintain a relatively sane life.
He could give it all / a couple of million to me.. I'm sure i'd adjust just fine.
I know so many people with cool ideas who can't do anything with their lives other than treadmill because they are anchored to debts.
I've got a long list of names of all the people I've met over the course of my life whose debts I'd wipe out with anonymous gifts should I ever come into the money. I'd spend on that project until everybody is in the clear, or until half the money is gone; whichever comes first. I've never thought in terms of billions before, so you could probably lift a whole lot of people out of slavery and still have plenty left over for the next stage...
Start up a foundation, (or a series of them. Why not?). -Maybe the kind with twenty million sitting pat, collecting interest, and you only spend the interest, (except interest bearing projects are sort of the problem which put everybody into debt in the first place. Going all Batman on the banking elite isn't really an option, so I'm not 100% clear on how to proceed with regard to that philosophy. However...)
Foundations. Fixed budget groups with one or two captains heading up each with mandates like, "Seek out cool stage productions and finance them!" "Promote Maker Spaces and the ability to learn, build and fix tech for people of all ages!" "Awesome private schools where earnest disadvantaged kids can afford to be!" "Set up systems your community can use to establish and maintain their own food security!" "Off the grid, one home at a time..!"
Stuff like that.
It'd be fun to imagine new ways to make the world more awesome and less miserable for lots of people; to give people the chance to spread their wings and really use their gifts rather than burn all their energy just treading water.
Fame is not something that bothers me. That's why you hire secretaries.
I love maps. I want to actually see all of it
The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
So, how would you deal with Notch's problem?
Put money into funds/trusts.
And then get a job.
Wealth in itself is not the problem. It is the overreaction to the "success" which is the problem. Most "rich" folks are douchbags not because wealth makes them that, but because they believe that they are better than the rest.
Distance yourself from the money. Give yourself few years to get back on then feet. And only then (very) slowly start thinking what to do with the money.
Money is ultimately the choice. It is only social perception - the status - that if you rich, you have to have an expensive car and huge house. In reality, you can still drive a cheap replaceable car and live in a small comfy house.
P.S. It is easier when you have family and tight friends. It is changes nothing when you burn money on them. Do not lend/give away money to the close people: giving money would only distances you. Instead, for example, go to together to the expensive vacations destination, renovate house, etc.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Keep them longer. I forecast that TSLA will explode by 2018-2020 with the release of their 50k USD car, when they decide to apply all their know-how in a seriously mass-marketed vehicle. Not to mention their manufacturing process only has a tendency to improve with the gigafactory, with dedicated battery production, and the fact they will expand to the home appliances field with the solar/renewable power storage they announced last year. Somebody with TSLA stock should hang on to it like it's a winning lottery ticket.
Yeah, my current plan is to hold them until mid-2016 and see how well the company is doing then. I am not one who tends to move money around a whole lot and I buy long-term simply because I invest in a company and not just to make a profit. They've grown a great deal since I purchased them and I'd probably be tempted to sell if I needed the money. However, if I needed the money I'd have not bought stock with it.
Somehow my stock purchasing learning has been strangely successful. I really don't have an expertise or anything. I just read a lot of comments at sites full of smart people. Yes, I was drunk when I decided on this plan. I've since stopped drinking but the plan has gone pretty good. It does help that I was also buying like a drunken sailor when the market was crashed in the late 2000s.
Lots of people said they wanted a Tesla. So, yeah... Tesla stock it is. It's been a lot of fun learning. I like companies with novel ideas that look like they may be trendy. I've tried to explain it in the past but I'm not that articulate. Sometimes I stoop to mashing up news feeds (even a word cloud helps) and see what bubbles to the top. I've not had much luck figuring out anything from comments so I read those. It's not like I was doing anything more productive and I was going to read them anyhow.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
send the urine to space, duh
"They require continual maintenance, and who's going to be wasting their time shepherding all that?"
The people you pay to do so?
I looked at what one could do when winning the various lotteries. Over $50m, and even if you're only making 1% interest on the principal, you're still raking in $500k+/year (pre-tax). Given a diversified and fairly low-moderate risk portfolio, I'd imagine that 1% isn't a particularly high number to aim for, so let's say 2%, or roughly a million a year (in INTEREST, never touching the principal)
That still gives me a fair bit of cash to both enjoy myself personally and do fun stuff for others. Maybe I'd like to hit the fancy hotels or restaurants I haven't tried before, but I'm probably still going to enjoy a milkshake or fries and gravy at a late-night Denny's. There's still going to be stressed out waitresses or young people who are working and trying hard to get ahead. With that kind of income, it's not going to even make me flinch to drop a tip here and there that could be potentially life-changing for something at that stage of life and income. Drop some dough and pay for somebody's tuition, whatever.
Or wander around and find some people who lost a job and/or are about to lose their house, car, whatever. Drop some cash and pay off their debts. Clear things out. Stuff like that could be a lot of fun.
The first thing, would be to try to remain anonymous. I would clear my debts, I would then lock the wealth up for a month or two to allow me to decide what are my new priorities.
a) My children's debts would be secretly paid off.
b) A trust fund setup for my grandchildren
c) A selling of the existing home and a move to a smaller bungalow. (lateral move)
d) I would spend some of the wealth on some current technology, some comfortable clothing and a new car.
e) I would return to University, to enjoy the pleasure of learning
f) I would look at what part of it I could give to a registered charity
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
It's a fascinating question, but let's just start with the assumption that I get a few billion and the tax man takes half. I have 1.5 billion to work with.
I'd probably start out with setting up a few small charitable trusts with 10 million each, for things that I care about in my community -- food banks, educational assistance for economically disadvantaged students, and housing & heating assistance for the elderly and disabled. They would pay out 5% of invested holdings every year. This would get me on a nice dinner party schedule, with some benefits to attend and give me some causes to work on and with other like-minded people. It doesn't have to be flashy, but it does have to be meaningful to me. This is how I'd meet people and pick up a social life.
I'd build a new house up in the mountains, with room for all my toys. I'd get an apartment in NYC and another house out in southern California. I'd probably move around between all three, through the year. I'd probably do a fair amount of traveling abroad as I felt the need.
I suppose, if my GF didn't care for this life, at some point I'd meet someone that would want to go along for the ride.
Honestly, I'd park most of the money in cash and securities and play it by ear.
.. pa-ra-bo-la, pa-ra-bo-la, 2 pi R, 2 pi R, where's your latus rectum, where's your latus rectum, 2 pi R
I have disproven you before, at this point continuing the argument would be further proof of mental illness. I have no need to prove anything to you, I don't need to prove myself right to validate myself, as I know I am right and you are not.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
Really nice to hear from your experience mate, you seem like the type of guy I'd want to invest in my company (if I had one) :P
I have worked for many people who worked for a living and then one day there was a million dollars in the bank that they truly could withdraw and take with them. At this point, they become greedy, and greedier. Previously if the computer(s) are broke "Fix them, send me the bill.". Now as rich, "Are you sure there isn't a cheaper way?" "We can get buy without that computer." etc. So my answer is find a cause(s) that can spend your money well and decently and give it away. Keep some for a rainy day or move to a place you always wanted to live, but don't become rich, you may not like your life afterward or yourself. Contact me if you want a good cause... I have one.
Find something you're passionate about and tackle it in your spare time. Then, as it grows, expand your hours until you are in a position to take the risks and go at it alone or with a partner. A lot of the investors are not just the jackasses in VC firms looking to cash out or get control of the assets. "Silent" business partners are not entirely uncommon though they're not the easiest to find.
I think the key is to remember that every hour you're working at your real job is an hour that you're spending enriching someone else. I think single-proprietor and small businesses are the way of the future and I expect there to be an expansion of them in number. This seems to be something we're reverting to like the days of yore when we had a farmer, grocer, blacksmith, miller, etc... It's much like we're reverting to dumb terminals with our compute devices.
Not too long ago I found someone online who had an interesting plan. They are doing urban farming with closed water systems and growing both fish and "organic" food for market. I've mentioned that they should also consider keeping records of what they've done and how they've done it so that they can, eventually, consider franchising it. I have not told them specifically (I don't want to be anything other than a motivator in this case at this time) but if they manage to do get this off the ground - even a little, if they have a decent business plan, and if they have an expansion plan that covers something akin to the franchising option then, by all means, I'd buy a stake in their company and provide the business with low interest capital for expansion purposes. Absolutely...
I think, and this is just my opinion and it is shared by a few folks that I have spoken with on the subject, much of what is looked for (at the personal level - ignore the VC firms if you can) is passionate people with good business sense and an actionable and articulate plan. There's a risk but one can show where that risk is mitigated and how well one has researched the risks and how to approach them as cautiously as possible. Of course, one can not always be cautious.
So, again, if there's something you're passionate about and you're willing to work hard then you may find there are people interested. What is looked for is, often, people who've already got the business started. For example, don't come to me with an idea. Approach me with an idea that you've already thought about AND have started on - show me how you plan on making your idea a reality and why that can be profitable. Businesses started in spare time have huge growth potential and a lot of smaller businesses are a safer bet than investing in one giant business that demands a greater investment. On top of that, well, you have a greater chance at impacting good people by investing in small companies.
An example might be a friend of mine who had a single franchise coffee shop (their initials are D.D. but I don't want to promote them or anything) and he had several good locations to act on as well as one existing location (and a Subway). He came to me for help and offered me the chance to invest. He articulated his plan well, had done his research, and had a history of success but not at the level he needed to in order to expand like he wanted to.
Was my investing risky? Absolutely. However, that's a known and I happily threw a goodly sum at him. Instead of the five year plan my money was repaid in a little over two years. Today I still make 20% of his continued profits. I'd have been a fool to not have invested in him. He's currently looking into selling the Subway (he has a standing offer that is exceptional for a Subway in Farmington, Maine) and wanting to expand into a few other areas as well as increasing his coffee shop empire.
A key point was that we kept it strictly professional. I have no controlling interest and he can buy me out at any time for a pre-arranged figure (20% of the total value of the properties plus the existing properties - if he sells the Subway, for example, I get 20% of
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I'd be investing in energy-plus housing:ie housing that produces more energy than it consumes. There is lots to be discovered about this and I would contribute to other people's well being for a very long time.
i am in one of those strange places where I make a decent living, but ended up with a lot of debt (mostly due to divorce) and have to deal with a mortgage and my children going off to school.
1. Pay off debt - credit cards, mortgages, other loans.
2. Put aside money for college for the children.
3. Donate money to some very specific, local, causes. My wife has a community theater group she wants to support, and I'd want to support the local Boy Scout troops, and some other groups.
4. Travel: spent more time working when I was younger than traveling. I'd like to see more of the world. And not just in one-week chunks.
5. Figure out what I really like and then do it. I've been a software engineer for a long time, but it doesn't really satisfy me as much as it used to.
To quote an old joke:
Well, I guess I'd just keep farming until it was all gone. 8-)
In ten years, this can replace existing passenger and freight rail, and displace a lot of air travel. In forty years, this could be a multi-trillion dollar industry satisfying most of the county's transportation needs cleanly and efficiently.
Step 1: Buy /. /. return.
Step 2: Fix it!
Step 3: Watch the old school
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
If I had the capital, I'd likely set up a small company to do software development that interested me, and which would also be either useful to others (purely philanthropic) or would have some commercial demand too.
I seriously feel that one could revolutionize computing by applying capability theory to it (think KeyKOS / EROS / Coyotos / CapROS). I know that if I sometime needed or just wanted a computer in my eye or ear or something, something I had to trust, then that would be it.
Once you've set up all your kids and family and (other) loved ones and ensured yourself a permanent comfortable income, invest where you want to make a difference : computing, politics, health. Your health... if I had so much money that I have to ask for ways to spend it, my second question would be how to make reasonably ensure I get a lot of time to spend it in. Money can't buy time, but maybe *lots* of money could? Peter F Hamilton, here I come!
A boat is a hole in the water in which to put your money.
Boat = break out another thousand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
I'd setup a perpetual lottery system and send money "directly" to the winner's bank account.
There are millions of people living in abject poverty.
http://www.instat.gov.al/en/th...
I'd strive to make everybody wealthy;
For now I'll give $300 million for creating an Independent Nation for the Untouchable in India;
https://www.change.org/p/indep...
Casteism
What does it matter is I disprove all your points? That is not possible, but it also doesn't mean all your points are correct. Some of your points are correct, but no matter how many times you post them, you will not change people's minds, mostly because you irritate people, you are worse than the ads people are trying to block with the repeated inflammatory posting.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
I would make sure that my family, friends and loved ones were financially taken care of, then donate the rest to missions and relief work, and then I would go very, very far away, someplace no one knows me.
Nonaggression works!
if i were in notch's position, i think i would campaign for a society with a bigger middle class. perhaps some tax law that automatically adjusts the highest and lowest tax brackets every year, according to the distance between wealthiest and poorest.
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
Pay my debt, put money aside for my entire family to go to college when they want, get a replacement for my 2002 Kia, but otherwise not change much.
1) Buy a lot of rainforst and set aside a trust to protect it in perpetuity.
2) Pay off the college debt of some struggling entry level workers
3) Fund schools
4) fund food banks
5) Support the politician of your choice - maybe he/she really will make a difference
6) Give all of your money to charity and go find a real job - you will be happier and you'll definitely get laid by a chick who digs you
1. Become a full time student.
2. Find a wife.
3. Start a family.