The current Jackpot is $1.3 billion. It may even go higher before the Wednesday drawing. I can’t say that gambling is a good way to “invest” and I think of it more as a form of entertainment, but still, if I did happen to win, I wouldn’t just spend it all. It amazes me how many people win hundreds of millions of dollars and then end up bankrupt in a few years. I don’t think people realize just how much it costs to **maintain** all the stuff they buy, so they spend a lot of their money, and then spend the rest trying to maintain the things they’ve purchased.
So how would I use the jackpot? Well, let’s assume that the after tax lump sum amount is $450M. I would take $50M off the top, and use that for living expenses, spending money, etc. Why so little? It’s because the rest would go into businesses. Then I can help ensure that I’ll **always** have a lot of money to do with as I please. It would also result in a lot of jobs produced.
Here are the companies that I would create, and why.
Umbrella Company ($120M)
An umbrella company is useful to keep all of the other companies organized. It would initially receive all of the winnings, and then be used to create the other companies, as well as produce, and invest in, future companies. A good chunk of the money would be held in various currencies, precious metals, stocks, bonds, and bonds. I would not rely on a single region. Global diversification is a must.
Real Estate ($70M)
A real estate firm can be used to hold all of the land for other businesses. It can also have holdings in agriculture (which can be used for food production, biofuel, liquor production, and more), mining, etc. And of course, I could rent a rather large property from the real estate branch, which means that my money would be going right back into my own pockets, more or less.
Research and Development ($70M)
An R&D would act as an incubator for additional business ideas. The firm would need to have experts in a wide range of skills, including software engineering, computer science, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and more. A few projects will be pet projects, but most will be related to the other businesses.
Mining & Metal Streaming ($70M)
Commodities are cheap right now, but they won’t stay that way. Winning such a large amount of money now, when commodities are so cheap, would be great. Mines are struggling and need cash. A company that offers those mines cash, in return for a contract for future purchases, at a set rate, is called a streaming company. Currently streaming companies focus on precious metals (Silver Wheaton is the pioneer in this industry). But I would extend this to industrial metals and other raw material.
Construction & Manufacturing ($70M)
With access to cheap raw materials and land, a construction and manufacturing firm would be the perfect addition to the initial group of businesses. The firm could also take advantage of research being conducted by the R&D branch, and hire it to design innovative products.
Summary
As you can see, the firms work off one another. They would be separate entities, but all help one another function. Could this be done without a huge jackpot? Sure! But it would take a lot of time, and it would probably be impossible to start all of these branches at the same time. It would also be essentially impossible to do it without relying on loans and possibly even outside investment.
Non Profit
I’m a huge fan of businesses as a way to provide jobs, economic growth, and general increases to socioeconomic status in a region. But there are some places for non profits. I’ve wanted to start a mobile disaster relief team for quite a while, which would include retrofitted vans and trucks, that could go to a disaster and provide immediate relief. These vehicles would have state of the art technology, including 3D printers, right on board. They would be in contact with a home base, which could then provide solutions to problems, as they’re found. Most of the firms listed above can help produce such a project.