Mark Terry

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Congratulations!

December 9, 2010
Congratulations! The widow of a deposed Nigerian general has provided you with $20 million (Tax Free!) in return for some advice on how to invest her late-husband's millions in American banks and other investment opportunities.

So, what are you going to do with your $20 million?

Today, my thinking is:

$20,000,000
-$1 million each into a trust fund for each kid that they can't touch until they're, oh, 33 or so.
=$18,000,000

Set aside $250,000 for each kid to pay for college. God, I hope that's enough.
= $17,500,000

Replace my 2003 Saturn VUE with a Suburu of some sort, let's say $30,000
as well as invest in a good-sized pickup truck and a boat, let's just round these to $100,000 for simplicity.

= $17,400,000

Buy a place on Higgins Lake in northern Michigan. Normally I'd say condo for $200,000, but since I'm suddenly rolling in money, I think we'll go with a house. $1,200,000 (one of the most, if not most expensive lakes in Michigan, unless you decide to live on a Great Lake) plus miscellaneous furnishings and electronic equipment.

= $16,200,000

Buy a condo in Florida, possibly at Disney World. Have no clue as to price, but let's say $500,000.

= $15,700,000.

Pay off current house. I'm not sure what we owe, but probably $80,000. Time to replace appliances, carpet, have interior painted, new furniture, various electronica... total about $150,000 when all is said and done.

=$15,550,000.

$1,000,000 would be set aside for a trust that would provide continuing funds for the Oxford Band program, to be managed by Leanne.

=$14,550,000.

$2,000,000 would be put (today, at least) into developing a think tank/foundation for healthcare studies that I would run in the hopes of it becoming self-perpetuating.

=$12,550,000.

$1,000,000 to various charities, including Gleaners Food Bank, Paws For A Cause, National Cancer Foundation, the Alzheimer's Foundation and probably a few others.

= $11,550,000.

I'm feeling generous, so I would invite my family (but probably not my wife's family, ahem) along on an all-expenses paid trip to a Hawaiian resort for a week or so. $150,000.

= $11,400,000.

Sadly, I'm not sure what else I would do with it, so scatter the rest of it throughout various investments so I wouldn't have to work again unless I wanted to.

Would I continue to write fiction? Yes, probably. Would I start a publishing company for fiction? Uh, no. Spend tons of it promoting my own work? Hmmmm, maybe. Would probably be more fun than the think tank. Seems to me that creating another foundation to do some good locally would be a good idea, too, that Leanne and I could run together. So I think I'll shave off another $3,000,000 to do that.

= $8,400,000.

So, how about you?

5 Comments:

Blogger Erica Orloff said...

OMG!!!!

:-)

Love it.

OK . . . Buy large horse farm with separate (!) guest house for my parents, and one for my best friend. She will never have to work again as long as she lives. Hers will have a complete bakers' kitchen as she makes the world's most excellent cookies.

Horses. Organic garden. Perhaps a winery.

Winnebego so I can take my kids to see some cool places.

Trust funds for my 8 nieces and nephews, plus my own kids.

Might write. Might not. Would probably do the same as you. Write and be able to spend more on promo.

Oh, big-ass telescope.

New cars.

Take my entire extended clan on a beach-house vacation with chef and housekeeper provided.

And finally . . . my adopted godchildren . . . do whatever it costs to get them legalized and establish them in a nice house and send them to college. All five of them. My own personal charity. Their mother won't have to work again either.

E

6:47 AM  
Blogger Spy Scribbler said...

LOL! Well, we can just assume that 8 million will go to the government, somehow. :-)

Short answer: I'd have a HORDE of children! Adopted and natural. :-)

10:10 AM  
Blogger Mark Terry said...

Yeah, Natasha, the kids will whip thru the money pretty quickly.

10:14 AM  
Blogger Sara said...

Dear rich uncle - Since you're feeling generous, you could take us to Hawaii anyway. ;)

4:22 PM  
Blogger Mark Terry said...

:) sure, no problem

4:37 PM  

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