# What would you do with a Billion dollars?



## peeyaj

So, you were checking your bank account and suddenly, you are amazed/astonished, that you have a billion dollars sitting in your account's name. Perhaps, some far flung relative gave you the money. Who knows? And the best thing is *No Taxes*.

*What would you do if you have a billion dollars?*

In my case, I would spend it certainly and these would be in my hypothetical list...

PRIMARY

- I will find the best doctor in the planet because my grandfather was paralyzed with stroke. If that doctor could make him speak, I would be very happy.

- A nice house for my mother.

- A generous donation to my favorite charities.

Then,

- I would attend all amazing concerts in the world. I confess, I haven't attended concerts that much. I would go to Austria to watch the Wiener Philharmoniker and to Netherlands to attend a Concertgebouw. I would do this in my entire life.

- I would build the largest music collection of my favorite composers like Schubert.

- A few luxury cars, a yacht and a huge winery.

- A school for poor children in my country.

Add all that, and perhaps I would still have a 500 million dollars to spend.

I could go on and on, but I think these would suffice for now. It would be really interesting what the TC members would be doing in this situation.

So, I'll ask the hivemind:

*What would you do if you have a billion dollars to spend?*

* It would be a billion euro to our European friends.


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## emiellucifuge

I advise all americans to take the Billion euros instead as it will be worth more.

What I would do:

Start a foundation that helps poorer countried to develop sustainably, working from the bottom-up, and also promotes nature conservation.

A billion dollars would solve a lot.


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## peeyaj

emiellucifuge said:


> I advise all americans to take the Billion euros instead as it will be worth more.


That is epic!


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## Ukko

*Hah*

I would distribute $999,000,000 very carefully to charities, relatives and friends, and attempt to survive on the remainder.


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## gurthbruins

I don't see that anyone has the right to force money into my possession, thanks I have my own adequate sources of income, I disown and refuse the gift, I don't want money at all. Disgusting and useless stuff.

The spending of money can not possibly benefit anyone in any real way. People follow such vain pursuits, such as trying to cheat death. Why can they never have enough?


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## Polednice

gurthbruins said:


> I don't see that anyone has the right to force money into my possession, thanks I have my own adequate sources of income, I disown and refuse the gift, I don't want money at all. Disgusting and useless stuff.
> 
> The spending of money can not possibly benefit anyone in any real way. People follow such vain pursuits, such as trying to cheat death. Why can they never have enough?


I think it would almost be spiteful to completely reject the money rather than take the opportunity to use it for the benefit of people in poverty-stricken nations who suffer hardships alien to the western world.

Personally, I'd no doubt indulge in some travel, particularly to obvious musically-related places such as Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Russia etc., but I'd like to think that I'd use almost all of it to help people who, as mentioned above, have really tragic lives. It already pains me that I can't help more and, having a privileged life as I already do, I think a bit of financial adversity only helps development of character and respect for luxuries anyway.


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## Argus

Two chicks at the same time.


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## science

I would travel all over the place, but I would spend most of my time in Europe and North America: for the concerts, the shopping, the restaurants, and so on. I would donate my way onto the boards of the big orchestras, operas, and museums. I would donate money to this and that. 

Most of all, I would make myself a nuisance to beautiful women everywhere.


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## Almaviva

I would return the money immediately, before the police or the Mafia came looking for me.:lol:


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## jhar26

I'd buy a Steinway. Not that it would be of much use to me, but it would give Martha something to do whenever she'd come to visit me. And maybe she could then accompany me whenever I start singing to her my Joe Cocker sound-alike version of Schubert's "Ungeduld": "Dein ist mein herz! Dein ist mein herz!! Und soll es e-e-e-wig blei-eiben!!!"


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## Serge

I would give all of that money to the poor rap artist called 50 cent, but only on the condition that he changes his name to Billion Bucks and agrees to throw some of the classical music numbers into his repertoire.


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## starthrower

I'd bail out the Syracuse Symphony, and fund a number of other arts projects in my community. I'd also buy a winter home in south Florida. I'd also start a foundation to provide musical instruments and training to disadvantaged kids.


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## Edward Elgar

First thing I'd do is buy a house, a car, health insurance, a grand piano (haven't made my mind up which make), a whole load of orchestral instruments to mess around with, the best computer available with all the best music programs, a 60 inch TV, every CD box-set of every composer I admire, the scores to the pieces I admire.

When I'd get everything I could ever want, I'd put away £100,000 and give the rest away to needy causes.


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## Edward Elgar

Argus said:


> Two chicks at the same time.


Only two? :devil:


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## LordBlackudder

it would be a terrible poison. my first reaction is to get rid of it.

i would give most of it to charity and keep some for my family.

not sure what 'some' is in this day and age. enough to have a nice house.

on the other hand i would probably enjoy working. so i might invest it and create my own company.

i could also buy houses and rent them so i have a permanent wage. but again i wouldn't feel right not working.


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## World Violist

I would donate a lot of it, buy a tiny house (like those really tiny houses that are rather popular) and pay for the rest of my education. Whatever insanely large amount is left over I'll figure out what to do with it later.


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## Aksel

Edward Elgar said:


> First thing I'd do is buy a house, a car, health insurance, a *grand piano (haven't made my mind up which make)*, a whole load of orchestral instruments to mess around with, the best computer available with all the best music programs, a 60 inch TV, every CD box-set of every composer I admire, the scores to the pieces I admire.
> 
> When I'd get everything I could ever want, I'd put away £100,000 and give the rest away to needy causes.


Why, a Steinway in walnut and rosewood. Duh.

Or one of these:









I'd get one, at least. And another for my mansion outside Vienna. And also a couple of Bösendorfers while I'm at it. Also, I'd get a couple bassoons, a few more trombones, a life-time supply of Slide-o-mix. And give some to charity.

And sheet music. Loads and loads of sheet music.

Oh, and I'd take the euros, please.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Aksel said:


> Why, a Steinway in walnut and rosewood. Duh.
> 
> Or one of these:
> 
> I'd get one, at least. And another for my mansion outside Vienna. And also a couple of Bösendorfers while I'm at it. Also, I'd get a couple bassoons, a few more trombones, a life-time supply of Slide-o-mix. And give some to charity.
> 
> And sheet music. Loads and loads of sheet music.
> 
> Oh, and I'd take the euros, please.


Regarding the sheet music, undoubtedly Handelian of course. Oh, and Grieg.


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## Ravellian

Buy a small house in New Zealand and live there for the rest of my days... watching the crazy events of the world unfold from a distance.

(All my friends and family are financially secure, so I feel no need to donate any of it.. >_>)


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## Rasa

Buy a Fazioli
Set up a fund for grandparents retirement homes.
Finish college whenever I feel like it
5 million to my three best friends and each parent.
A place in Paris.
A beastly gaming computer.

I'd try to live off the remaining 950 I guess.


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## World Violist

Oh, and I would buy a lot of amazingly good coffee. Don't know from where...


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## Huilunsoittaja

peeyaj said:


> *What would you do if you have a billion dollars?*


Dedicate 500,000,000$ of it to Music Colleges, Conservatories and other Arts Funds to give to young musicians. Honestly. They need the money most.

Then, like 400,000,000$ to World Missions. Anything that would draw the End nearer!

Then, I'd like to buy a Brannen-Brothers flute for like 150,000 dollars, "the Works," with everything up to date.

Oh! And go on a trip to Russia to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow, see some musical landmarks, and some concerts.

I guess I'd still have a lot left over. I would give it to other charities then.


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## Sid James

I don't know, probably would be along the same line as people have "fantasised" above - buy a house (or a couple), give to charities, help family, maybe develop a business, invest some of the money, spend on passions/hobbies, etc.

But, from what I've heard, some or even many of the people who win stupendous amounts in the lotteries end up squandering it within a few years & can end up in a worse situation than they started before they won the money...


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## peeyaj

I can't believe no one mentioned it yet. *Buy a Van Gogh.*

Isn't that what rich people do?


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## Almaviva

Other than helping family and worthy causes, I'd probably stay exactly where I am (except that I might upgrade my house) and would continue to work (I love what I do and I love my metropolitan area), but would cut work to part time and have some vacation residences around the world - would buy nice apartments in places with great orchestras and opera houses (New York City, Paris, St.Petersburg, Milan, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, etc.) and would spend part of the year in those places. I'd have an executive jet with a personal chef to fly to those locations. My personal chef would cook for me as well, at home. I'd build a good wine cellar with a collection of the best wines in the world. I'd become a big time sponsor of the Metropolitan Opera House, with the condition that they'd have to invite me to all sorts of galas and cocktail parties to meet the artists. I might even fund a new opera - I'd pick the composer, the librettist, the topic, and the cast - of course Anna Netrebko would have to be in it!

The only really sort of bizarre thing I'd do, would be to hire the best music professors to work for me full time and teach me how to conduct an orchestra. Now that I think of it, this much money might be enough to hire my own orchestra.

As a matter of fact, there is a billionaire who did just that. I don't know the reference, but I read somewhere that some billionaire studied hard how to conduct his favorite symphony, then hired an orchestra and conducted it, and apparently did a pretty good job. Have you all heard of this?


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## World Violist

Almaviva said:


> As a matter of fact, there is a billionaire who did just that. I don't know the reference, but I read somewhere that some billionaire studied hard how to conduct his favorite symphony, then hired an orchestra and conducted it, and apparently did a pretty good job. Have you all heard of this?


Gilbert Kaplan, Mahler 2. I saw him conduct it... no good. Sorry for being a killjoy.


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## Almaviva

World Violist said:


> Gilbert Kaplan, Mahler 2. I saw him conduct it... no good. Sorry for being a killjoy.


Yikes! Look at this:

" in December 2008 the _New York Times_ reported that New York Philharmonic musicians had complained that his recent performance with the orchestra was a 'woefully sad farce', and that he should not be allowed to conduct them again "

OK, no good, that means he didn't try hard enough. I'd just have to try harder.


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## Couchie

- Buy a Penthouse in Manhattan.
- Buy a Bosendorfer 290 Imperial, put in penthouse.
- Put enough in a bank for a steady supply of vintage liquors and fine cheeses for the rest of my life, as well as other food and property taxes.
- Don't really care what happens to the rest. I consider nice cars and luxury goods utter wastes of money. I would probably fool around with venture investment for a while and then make large donations to various scientific research institutes.


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## Aksel

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Regarding the sheet music, undoubtedly Handelian of course. Oh, and Grieg.


Yes. And Gavrilin. I already have some of Händel's keyboard music, but I would love to have some vocal scores of his operas.

Oh, and some more Mozart and Beethoven. And general brass ensemble stuff.


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## Almaviva

I'd buy back all copies of the evil Copenhagen Ring with the pregnant Brunnhilde and destroy them all.


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## Weston

I'm not sure what I would do. Why don't we find out?


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## Almaviva

Weston said:


> I'm not sure what I would do. Why don't we find out?


You planning to rob the mint?


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## Sieglinde

I'd live in luxury for the rest of my life, and so would my family. And I'd donate a lot, that's an insane amount of money.

I'd fill my closet with Angelic Pretty (prints only), Mary Magdalene, Innocent World and the like. I'd pay them to custom-make dresses for me to make sure they'd fit in bust too. And I'd buy all my loli friends their dream prints. Not findable? Just tell brands to re-release them if they want Princess Sieglinde's good graces.

I'd have the idiotic dictator of my country (Orbán) put in Bedlam. Vetinari For President!

Visit Bayreuth every year. Get the best place.

Same goes for any opera I feel desire for.

I'd see Billy Budd everywhere. And make sure all theaters make dvds and collect them. And I'd once hire a perfect dream cast and make a historically accurate, super-mega-awesome show. For dvd too. (Alas, I can't have my absolute dream Vere anymore. )

Travel a lot.

Pay and direct a dream cast Ring movie. With the best technique available, make it 20x more awesome looking than LotR. It would redefine EPIC.

Also, Aldeburgh needs an actual *statue* for Britten and Pears, not just the scallop. It could be something like the Goethe/Schiller statue in Weinmar. They'd be so adorable!

(Hehe, Alma!:devil: You could never buy _my_ copy! No one can take the awesome Loge and the loveliest Fasolt from me!)


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## Ravellian

Why are people so obsessed about RINGS?


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## Rasa

They want to feel positively wagnerian?


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## Almaviva

Ravellian said:


> Why are people so obsessed about RINGS?


It's the "you can rule the world" thing.


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## Sieglinde

...preciousssssss... it's oursssss... nasssty Godss sstole it from usss...

And I love Hagen. Basso profondo, evil and tragic... all I need.


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## Bronie

*Just a thought*

I'd spend it on trying to get rid of the intermittent but annoying static I hear when listening to music on my computer via iTunes. Or maybe a castle on an island with dancing girls.


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## Jules141

I'd start up my own classical recording company, and would be like a child in a sweet shop choosing what rarely recorded classics to release! When the company inevitably goes bust i'll go back to normal I suppose, but should at least by then be able to shop at Waitrose instead of Lidl.


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## Sieglinde

Oh my, I forgot - support the revival of western and jidai geki. Badass genres need more love!


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## Pieck

What would I do? probably eat it, just to say I crap money


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## teccomin

I would buy a Steinway and actually do a music major rather than engineering


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## Potiphera

I would give most away to charities, and I would give some to my local Council to make improvements to the town. Especially local education, all the kids would be learning musical instruments of their choice. Give to missionary doctors for treatment in poor countries. Feed the world.
I would buy a stradivarius or maybe more, that would come before buying a house in the countryside.
Pay off my countries debts if ever that is possibe. Give to medical research. 
The rest I could comfortably live off and thank the good Lord.


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## BalloinMaschera

1/3 for myself to invest and live off
1/3 to take care of my friends and family
1/3 to charity


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## Kopachris

New house for my parents: $300,000
New house for me (includes stuff like new computer(s), piano, etc.): $3,000,000
New cars for me: $1,500,000
Donate $1,000,000 to my parents
Donate $1,000,000 each to several charities
Use $10,000,000 for high-risk investing
Buy $100,000,000 worth of gold, silver coinage and gemstones to put in a chest and bury
Keep $150,000,000 available in the bank at all times (with insurance)
Put the rest in a savings account or something

After that, I dunno. Maybe I'll fund and direct a movie or something (but not LOTR; maybe the Wheel of Time series).

Oh, and one more thing: buy FreeSpace IP rights from Interplay and release them into the public domain (probably around $10,000,000).


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## Serge

Assuming that it’s all in one-dollar bills, I would learn to count to a billion.

Next question, please?


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## Ralfy

Spread them across different assets, including farm land, precious metals, equipment for generating renewable energy, permaculture, etc. Look for like-minded individuals and see if the money can be used to form a community that focuses on sustainable living.


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## Guest

1. Pay off student loans.
2. Buy a nice house.
3. Buy new cars for my wife and I.
4. Set up college funds for my kids.
5. Invest the rest and settle back comfortably in my job, knowing that I have a very nice safety net, and go forward without worries.


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## Aramis

I wouldn't do anything with billion dollars. Billion dollars would do something with me. Bring me to madness since I wouldn't know what to do with them. Or eventually I would do something very noble, half because I would like to and half because I would feel guilty if I would spend all these money for my own business. Perhaps just after getting them I would take it all in cash, go out to street and while walking I would look for things that I could fix with such great amount of money - just like that - I would go to flower shop and buy every beautiful maid huge bouquet of flowers, simply walk into most expensive restaurant in town with bunch of homeless poors and order most luxurious dinner for them all. I certainly wouldn't keep any money for longer period because I despise saving money "for the future" - there is so much that should be done and could be done with money any time of day and night that any saving is for tightwads and people like bookkeeper from Monty Python sketch.


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## Iforgotmypassword

Well, of course this is all theoretical since I can't tell the future and none of us can predict what our own actions would be in a given situation. However, I would like to think that I would be smart and frugal with my money regardless of the fact that I just became the richest person that I've ever met. I would Invest the money In banks throughout the world to insure security were one bank system or country to go under for some reason. I would take a couple of million and finish my parent's payment on their home, cars and credit card bills and give them an extra 100 thousand just for spending on what they need/want (of course all they need do is ask if they were ever in need of funds). I would then get myself a modest sized house in a nice but modest neighborhood and purchase the nicest used car that I could find (because new cars are the worst investment there is aside from diamonds) and I would just start taking classes at whatever university I wanted, maybe being a fulltime student for 15 or 20 years, see how many degrees I can get under my belt. Then I would try and forget about the money and get a good job with the intelligence and degrees that I had gotten those past years and just see what happened from there.


Now at the same time there is the possibility that I would just go starcrazy over such a large sum of money and end up addicted to cocaine and/or other such drugs and sailing around the world on a yaht until I overdose or someone kills me, but I hope that I would be the former of these two.


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## Almaviva

DrMike said:


> 1. Pay off student loans.
> 2. Buy a nice house.
> 3. Buy new cars for my wife and I.
> 4. Set up college funds for my kids.
> 5. Invest the rest and settle back comfortably in my job, knowing that I have a very nice safety net, and go forward without worries.


Dr. Mike, it's a* billion* dollars. Your spending plan wouldn't even start to scratch the surface of it.


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## Webernite

:lol:

Dr Mike, I can't believe you would keep working.


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## bassClef

Give up day job
Buy all my family a house (each!)
Establish a mini-brewery 
Get the best hi-fi money can buy
Buy a snooker table


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## Guest

Almaviva said:


> Dr. Mike, it's a* billion* dollars. Your spending plan wouldn't even start to scratch the surface of it.


Fine - I'd use several million to fund my own research, then invest the rest.

Don't worry, I'll make a mad dash to shelter the remainder in off-shore accounts just before I died so my kids wouldn't get slammed with some ridiculous death tax when I die. If it worked for the Kennedys, why not me.


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## Guest

Webernite said:


> :lol:
> 
> Dr Mike, I can't believe you would keep working.


I just got started working. I'm not looking to retire just yet. Besides, I think working would be fun with that knowledge that I didn't really have to worry if were to be fired.


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## jhar26

Pay for the best lawyers that money can buy for that chamber maid so that she will be as well represented as that Strauss-Kahn character will be.


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## AmateurComposer

Serge said:


> Assuming that it's all in one-dollar bills, I would learn to count to a billion.


Which billion are you talking about - the one common in the United States (1,000,000,000) or the one common in some other parts of the world (1,000,000,000,000 - where 1,000,000,000 is referred to as "milliard")? It will make a thousand fold difference in your single dollar bill counting.

Regardless of which billion we we talking about, the probability of such an amount coming my way is less than 1/billion - i.e., negligible probability. I am not planning to worry about such unlikely miracle unless it happens, in which case I will cross this bridge *if* I ever get to it.

There are a number of stories and movies about people who unexpectedly received large amount of money and how they handled it. One movie was about a Mr. Deed, a tuba player, who received an inheritance of twenty million pre World War II dollars, with the attached problems and how he solved them.

Also, I remember reading about an ultra-rich Hindu in India who bought the entire production of an expensive car model in order to make sure that nobody else in the world has a car like his.

I hope that inflation will not reduce the billion dollars to the point where, instead of worrying about how to use the money I would need to worry about making ends meet. :lol:


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## Stasou

I would buy enough reeds to last me 304.2 years (if I opened one reed per second...).


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## science

AmateurComposer said:


> Which billion are you talking about - the one common in the United States (1,000,000,000) or the one common in some other parts of the world (1,000,000,000,000 - where 1,000,000,000 is referred to as "milliard")? It will make a thousand fold difference in your single dollar bill counting.
> 
> Regardless of which billion we we talking about, the probability of such an amount coming my way is less than 1/billion - i.e., negligible probability. I am not planning to worry about such unlikely miracle unless it happens, in which case I will cross this bridge *if* I ever get to it.
> 
> There are a number of stories and movies about people who unexpectedly received large amount of money and how they handled it. One movie was about a Mr. Deed, a tuba player, who received an inheritance of twenty million pre World War II dollars, with the attached problems and how he solved them.
> 
> Also, I remember reading about an ultra-rich Hindu in India who bought the entire production of an expensive car model in order to make sure that nobody else in the world has a car like his.
> 
> I hope that inflation will not reduce the billion dollars to the point where, instead of worrying about how to use the money I would need to worry about making ends meet. :lol:


If inflation is so bad that billionaires have to worry about making ends meet, we'll have a lot more to worry about than making ends meet.


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## Almaviva

I'm not sure if I have responded to this yet (I didn't bother to check) but definitely one thing I'd do would be to sponsor my own opera stagings (would become a major contributor to some of the world opera houses, with strings attached, saying that I'd give the money if allowed to influence casting, staging, etc., as Volpe disclosed in his book that some rich New Yorkers have done at the Met in the past) and would get front row seats to the most spectacular opera performances all over the world (Glyndebourne festival, Salzburg festival, Bayreuth, here I come!!!). My donations would also give me ample access to galas, soirees, cocktail parties so that I would meet the artists in person, in a more significant way than merely getting an autograph at the stage door. I'd also put lots of money into being taught how to conduct - I'd be a mediocre conductor of course, starting so late, but it would be fun to learn anyway.


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## Suwannee Tim

I would buy my own country, complete with a citizenry which I would run as a benevolent despot. I would run it so well that it would become a shining example to all other countries who's citizens would demand that their venal and corrupt rulers relinquish power to me. And two chicks at the same time., two chicks with.........well, maybe 'nuff sed. (I'd call them the Goddesses!)


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