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I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

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Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#221

Post by bityard »

zozbot234 wrote: post #85
jkereako wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve wondered about this: when someone comes into a windfall and their loved ones see them differently, are they really different or is the person seeing them exactly as they are?

Most people don't even understand the notion of a random windfall, financially. It's something you should just put in the bank and literally forget about, unless you have high-interest debt to pay off or the like. Drawing down on a windfall should be a very serious decision, not something done casually. That money you're spending on pure consumption is not coming back, ever, so only use it for experiences and endeavo…

/Should/ be yes, but we repeatedly see people who come into a windfall blow it all almost immediately on fancy cars and vacations and end up worse off than when they started. (See: professional athletes.)

I'm doing okay but I worked for what I have. I'm pretty financially savvy compared to the median person and even /I/ can't say with 100% certainty that if I ran into $55 mil somehow that I would be able to save/invest it all responsibly.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#222

Post by tasty_freeze »

silicon2401 wrote: post #196
tasty_freeze wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He donates about 30% of his income. He freely admits he still lives comfortably. Would you have a higher opinion of him if he didn't donate any money instead of "only" 30%? Peter Singer doesn't claim to be a martyr. I'm not sure where you get that. He is a philosopher/ethicist -- it is his job to think about moral issues and present his conclusions, right or wrong.

I would have a very high opinion of him if he lived by his own standards. It's not special or rare; there are plenty of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, (etc) ascetics who renounce everything from income all the way to even clothing altogether. Or if he acknowledged his own hypocrisy, like another philosopher (Diogenes? don't remember) who said something like "if you ask me directions, I'm not obligated to go down that wa…

In his book, "The Life You Can Save" (free to download as an audiobook or ebook from thelifeyoucansave.org) he does talk at length about the question of "how much is enough? how much is too much? what obligation do you have to your family and community vs helping distant strangers?"

In Chapter 10 of that book, "A Realistic Standard" he brings it all home. He has no problem recognizing that the philosophically perfect solution is unattainable for but a rare few, and that pragmatic solutions that fall short of it would still leave the worst off far better off than they are now.

> Hence in this chapter I propose a much easier target: roughly 5% of annual income for those who are financially comfortable, with less for those below that level, and significantly more for the very rich. My hope is that people will be convinced that they can and should give at these levels. I believe that doing so would be a first step toward restoring the ethical importance of giving as an essential component of a well-lived life. And if it is widely adopted, we’ll have more than enough money to end extreme poverty.

The corresponding website also has a calculator that has a progressive suggestion about what is a good target for someone of a certain income.

https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/take-the-pledge/

He gives 30%. I don't think he is extremely rich, yet he gives at a rate 6 times what he suggests people who are comfortably well off should give. Do you still feel he is a hypocrite?

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#223

Post by bityard »

bostonsre wrote: post #195
adventured wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wouldn't they think that you are a selfish doosh I never cease to be amazed at how terrified people commonly are of trivial confrontation and worthless opinions. A life spent placating other people to live by their low value opinions, will be a life very poorly lived. Rather than spending the effort on fretting about their low value opinions, that effort should go into mentally reducing the incorrect value being pl…

> I never cease to be amazed at how terrified people commonly are of trivial confrontation and worthless opinions. So... you don't care if your family never talks to you again? I would.

If your family refused to speak to you because you didn't share your "wealth" with them, you would pay them off just so they would speak to you again?

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#224

Post by yupper32 »

philwelch wrote: post #214
yupper32 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That thread is really dumb. You can't just throw stuff out there like "You're 20x more likely to die of homicide!" and expect to be taken seriously. 1. The demographic that is likely to win lotteries might already be more likely to die of homicide (or become bankrupt, etc) than the general population. 2. Throwing large multiples out sounds flashy, but it doesn't mean much if the probability was already extremely low.…

> You're not fucked if you win the lottery... The amount you can afford with 100 million is incredible. Buy a huge lot and hire security. Hire great attorneys and financial firms to handle details. Don't spend more than you expect to make in interest yearly. If you bothered actually reading the thread, that's what it says to do.

I did read it. Why do you think I said "saved you from having to read a wall of Reddit lottery porn"?

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#225

Post by theandrewbailey »

bostonsre wrote: post #194
theandrewbailey wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if their money issues are their own doing (they live way above their means)? If you give them money, you're an enabler.

As long as you aren't giving them money to piss away on drugs or something similar, so what? You would give your family and/or friends an easier and happier life.

Maybe, but be careful. It doesn't have to be drugs. You can cover their food and some of their house payment, because they're broke, but they bought a new boat (or similar expensive item) anyways. Surely, they can't ask their rich relative for too many vacations, right? Or vacation houses?

For someone who keeps their word and is honest about their finances and asks for such-and-such, fine. For those who don't care for paying off the debt they have and always gets more, and you give them money, you're feeding their entitlement, and ultimately making no one happy.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#226

Post by dougmwne »

hanniabu wrote: post #93
dougmwne wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have worked in the nonprofit industry for 10 years. People with money have no moral obligation to give me money. The way the organizations I work with spend the money is about what you would expect for a business with no real economic incentive to be efficient or solve the advertised problem. Lots of politics, lots of waste, lots of egos. I will never steward your life savings to improve the world as well as you wo…

If someone wanted to donate, which are the top organizations you'd recommend and which are the top ones you'd avoid given your knowledge on efficiency and grifting?

To add to the other good comments, I think the best strategy is to find a really small organization with a laser focus, just a few million in run rate and less than a few dozen key staff. A small number of focused and passionate people can move mountains, just like in a startup. One you have vetted them, give them just enough to reach their next level of effectiveness, but with lots of strings and accountability. Think like a VC, is this team capable of getting the job done? Can their work be scaled with more capital?

There are good giant charities, but you're too small a fish for them. The "membership" programs at most charities are just lead gen pipelines for major gifts and breaking even on marketing cost is pretty normal no matter what the little expenses pie charts say. If you are wealthy enough that the CEO of MSF is talking to you then you then disregard what I just said and consult your staff who runs your personal foundation.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#227

Post by ghaff »

philwelch wrote: post #21
alecst wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's such a low bar to pass. The guy in the article is 67, makes 1MM+ in interest a year, and won't even consider telling his friends or family? Or donating a penny of it? Is there not room for a middle ground here? What about: "Hey, I made a million bucks in the lottery/stocks/crypto. I heard you're having a tough time, take this -- you don't owe me anything. Wishing you well, -Dave."

Word gets around and eventually you're going to get harassed, conned, and maybe even robbed.

I'll point out that, like it or not, the sort of money you're talking about is in the range of many CEOs or other senior execs of large US companies. Yes, some of these do have security services especially those at the high end of the range, but tens of millions of dollars pretty much puts you in the wealthy but not Uber-rich in the US.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#228

Post by theandrewbailey »

yupper32 wrote: post #148
throwaway210222 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why do I want to pay off my house? Because its the poor-man's version of F-You money. It instantly and dramatically lowers the monthly takings to have to make to keep your household going, and noticeably shifts the balance of power in all financial negotiations in your favour. Try it. Trust me.

I can't parse this comment. Shifts in power? Lowers the monthly takings? What? If you expect to make 6-8% a year in the stock market and pay 2% in interest on a loan, you'd miss out on a lot of money paying it off. You're essentially making another 4-6% a year on the amount of the loan. If that's a million dollar loan, that's $40-60k a year. There are reasons not to do this, like if your interest rate was higher, or…

You're focusing all on the math, but nothing on what it means to the person. Three questions:

1. How much are your monthly expenses?

2. How much of that is your mortgage payment?

3. If you had no payment, what would you do with that money?

Let's take an example:

1. Monthly expenses are $10,000 a month.

2. Mortgage is $4,000 a month.

3. If you had an extra $4,000 a month, you could work part time and volunteer more at that coding camp.

3. Because you have $80,000 saved, you could take a 6 month road trip, and still have time to find another job.

3. You could use that for one of the 15 side projects you've been thinking of.

3. You could go on a fancy vacation every year with your family.

3. All the while, no bank can evict you from your house, because you fully own it.

Are any of those things really worth foregoing extra 4-6% rate of return? For many people, they are. All it takes is no payments.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#229

Post by jjj123 »

throwaway528645 wrote: post #184
version_five wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you describe is true of many successes I find. Lots of people look at it as if you got some unfair or lucky break. Maybe that is true for the lottery, but for things like good grades, good job, wealth, or even access to leisure time (for example having time to exercise), many get defensive instead of being happy for the success. I've done it to, to some extent it's human nature, but it's something to try and avo…

I disagree. Dropped out of community college, couch surfed late teens to early twenties, worked night stocking at grocery stores, phone support for Wells Fargo, and DSL tech support. I suffer from ADD and depression(some anxiety). I drink too much too often as self-medication. Yet somehow I'm grossing just over 300k this year not working for a FAANG company. It's incredibly easy for me to get a job and offers and has…

Totally agree! I make far more than my harder working, smarter friends outside of tech.

People with greater wealth don’t necessarily “deserve” it, whatever that means.

Re: I won over $55M in the lottery, but didn’t tell my friends or family

#230

Post by 42069 »

hanniabu wrote: post #50
42069 wrote: post #5

I made ~50 million in crypto. By far the most satisfying part was buying a house each for my friends and family. Having a paid off house is really a massive stress reducer for most people which imho gives you the 90% of the financial freedom of being super wealthy.

If you don't mind, how much were the houses on average and how many did you buy for friends? Are you still invested in crypto?

6 houses, 600-900k each, at the time I was worth maybe 20 million, still have 2/3 net worth in btc/eth now worth 50 million
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