What would you do with $1,000,000,000?

[W|M]

Buy an island off the coast of some African country, hire a mercenary force to secure its independence and then bring in immigrants to build my utopia (depending on the situation I might even skip step one).

Owning cell phones will be a capital crime.

I'm sure the local inhabitants would be very grateful to be defended by white mercenaries and banned from using their easiest form of communication with the outside world

 

[Mouthwash]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmarnock

You had better rethink your legal system!

I meant the city itself, obviously, not the regime. It is not a good place to live in real life.

I'm sure the local inhabitants would be very grateful to be defended by white mercenaries and banned from using their easiest form of communication with the outside world

Letter-writing is one of our beautiful lost arts.

 

[Traitorfish]

That looks like a wonderful place to live, envious.

In my grandfather's day, probably, but like most of the country, it fared very badly with the collapse of manufacturing. It has unfortunately become the sort of town where people are from, not where they make a living.

 

[Birdjaguar]

In my grandfather's day, probably, but like most of the country, it fared very badly with the collapse of manufacturing. It has unfortunately become the sort of town where people are from, not where they make a living.

With a billion dollars you would not have to make a living and could probably support many local households exploiting their labor.

 

[schlaufuchs]

New car, caviar, four-star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a
football team

 

[amadeus]

In my grandfather's day, probably [...]

A little nostalgic for the Empire?

Nothing to be ashamed of.

You can join us.

 

[EgonSpengler]

On a purely selfish note, I think I'd like to have a nice car. Something spacious, but not too ostentatious. I don't need a friggin' mini-bar or big-screen tv or anything dumb like that. Is there such a thing as a fuel-efficient SUV? A hybrid, maybe? I'd want something at least partially electric. And I'll need a driver. I might drive myself once in a while, but most of the time I'd rather read or post on CFC or just stare out the window, and I don't want to rely on rideshare services. The driver will be an attractive woman with a blackbelt in something. I doubt I'll need a bodyguard, I just like women who can kick [butt].

That reminds me, I would sponsor an MMA gym. I'm all flab right now, and since I won't have to work full-time, I could spend a few hours a week getting my [butt] handed to me. I just don't have the discipline to do boring [stuff] like running or lifting weights or riding a stationary bike (I love to ride my bike, but I have to be going somewhere). Something you have to think about, and something social, like kickboxing and wrestling, might be more up my alley. It'd also be fun to watch the pros train. I think it would even be fun to grapple with one (I wouldn't kickbox or go full MMA rules with a pro, though, no thank you - one leg-kick from a Muay Thai fighter and I'm tapping out ). I think normally the pros don't train with the nerds, but if I'm the owner and they're not training for a match, they might be willing to make an exception once in a while. And hey, maybe I could hire one of the aspiring fighters to be my driver until she makes 'the big-time.' Two birds with one stone.

 

[Commodore]

I doubt I'll need a bodyguard, I just like women who can kick [butt].

By all means, get your attractive woman that can kick butt, but if you do find yourself in need of a security detail I'm more than willing to do mercenary work (and in fact did do it for a year).

 

[EgonSpengler]

By all means, get your attractive woman that can kick butt, but if you do find yourself in need of a security detail I'm more than willing to do mercenary work (and in fact did do it for a year).

I'll keep your card in my rolodex.

'Cause I'll have a rolodex, just to be retro-cool.

 

[CivCube]

I'd pay off my expenses, put enough in the bank to create an independent income of $5000 a month from interest, and pay off other folks' expenses. Of course, the more effective alternative would likely be to put it all in the bank and pay off people's expenses as the interest comes in...

 

[Commodore]

I'll keep your card in my rolodex.

'Cause I'll have a rolodex, just to be retro-cool.

I'll make sure to give you a discount too.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'd pay off my expenses, put enough in the bank to create an independent income of $5000 a month from interest, and pay off other folks' expenses. Of course, the more effective alternative would likely be to put it all in the bank and pay off people's expenses as the interest comes in...

$1 billion will provide $30 million in annual income without spending any of the capital. That's $2.5 million per month. Your $5000 a month might be just your lunch budget.

 

[Tee Kay]

I can't even imagine that much money

Probably $950 million in investment or media or renewable energy or affordable housing or something I don't know. Improving-humanity money.

$20 million put away in the bank

$15 million to my partner to do as he likes

$10 million for my parents

$4 million for a house and miscellaneous big spending

$1 million for myself to live off for a while while I make art and travel

 

[bernie14]

Great beachfront house for my wife. Nice residence in Paris and NYC. 100 mil to family and close friends. Then, I would love to start a lab to build a 3d computer model of the brain, with every tract, nuclei, receptor, neurotransmitter, interaction, etc to study disease states

 

[The_J]

The latter is there more on the level of a aircraft carrier: not affordable even with that money.
The Allen institute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Institute_for_Brain_Science has started up with 500 million, and that was probably not the only money they got.

 

[Lexicus]

The only problem is, a billion dollars might not actually be enough to buy the world's best-selling brand of whisky. So, um, any investors?

I'll invest my billion in you, but we need to direct some of the profits to uh...certain projects of mine, which don't need to be discussed further here

 

[tuckerkao]

I'd allocate $50,000,000 to helping out those I care about. I'd spend $2,000,000 on a house, $1,000,000 on personal improvements (personal trainer, health diagnostics, dietitian etc., along with some financial/business training), $1,000,000 on a personal R&D lab, blow a $1,000,000 on trivial things. The rest of the cash would go into a temporary investment account as I figure out what more I can do.

I'd probably invest in some startups I have as clients.

For me, I only want to take the amount that I can handle at first, then increase the amount little by little, say start at $4,700,000, so I won't end up like some lottery winners who have lost all by the end.

I probably won't need $1,000,000,000, they may no longer be usable after year 2040.

 

[ShogunGrumpyBear]

After taxes, give some to charity, close family and go have fun with it. Buy myself a house in the middle of nowhere. Maybe buy a castle or build one.

 

[Patine]

Owning cell phones will be a capital crime.

Although I very much believe cell phones may very well be "the Mark of the Beast," from Christian eschatology (they certainly live up to all the requirements in prophecy if one considers), and they are an evil tool of societal breakdown, personal interactional barrier creation, psychological impediment, awareness inhibition, and growing a whole generation of virtual sociopaths - capital punishment is an overreach and gross violation of the authority, mandate, and right of any just government having such laws in their judicial code, regardless of how high the threshold for execution may be, makes that government just as criminal, at least, as any executed under the auspices of their regime.

 

[Birdjaguar]

@Patine Cell phones and their future descendants are our access point for all things except: food, sleep, touch, love, exercise, fresh air, healing and sunshine. Ready or not, they are here.