Emigrate to the UK. Seriously. I was on holiday there recently, and when you take into account the exchange rate and the relatively very low costs of everything over there (bar petrol) compared to Canberra/Aus, why you could live rather well over there on $50,000,000.

Anyone planning to buy a ticket should listen to this episode of More or Less to make sure you buy your ticket at the right time, ie when it’s more likely you’ll win than you’ll die before the draw is held (starts at about 23 mins 41 secs)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0132pk7/More_or_Less_12_08_2011/

I’d go back to work for at least long enought to make sure that everyone knew that I’d won it.

Holden Caulfield said :

I’m gonna start a foundation to help homeless children.

You’re kidding, right?

I’d give family and close friends about a million each. I’d buy a nice place for me to live (less than a million dollars, nice) and one to rent. I’d put about $15-20m in a high interest savings account (which are currently paying about 5-5.5%). I’d have that interest paid into a separate account and live off it (750,000 – 1m a year). I’d use about half that interest to travel around (taking friends and family with me on my dime), and just for everyday living. The other half would be used to build orphanages overseas, and given to charities in Australia. Whatever is left would be used for helping others, and maybe buying myself one or two cool things.

Primal said :

Buy Queanbeyan, put a wall up around it and declare it a sovereign nation.

You got the first two parts right but the third should have been to fill the walled area with water.

I would buy gambling cessation therapy. Its hard to believe how many people fall for the idiot tax.

Buy Queanbeyan, put a wall up around it and declare it a sovereign nation.

Buy a choppa!

Nothing. I’d let it sit in my account for a bit, sit down and not let it go to my head.

Most of all, tell nobody about it except for my father, as he is an Accountant and good with money.

I won’t touch that money for 2 years. Nothing. Nothing till all the stuff and thoughts in my head settle down, once i’ve worked it all out.

Then i’ll go with the best plan I can nut out in two years. I don’t want an extravagent lifestyle, but I don’t feel the need to help anybody less fortunante than me. Hmm.

I would invest the entire amount in a fairly conservative portfolio containing cash, bonds, shares and property, with a yield target of about $2.5M per year (5% of $50M).

I would use about $250k of this to tour the world, and the remaining $2.25M I would give away to charitable projects I felt deserving of support in each country I visited.

Because I wouldn’t be eroding the underlying portfolio (it should actually grow over time), I would be able to do this for the rest of my life.

aidan said :

Become a RiotACT subscriber?

Buy RiotACT?

I’m gonna start a foundation to help homeless children.

Gosh, that’s a lot of money. Assuming I survived the week-long bender, I think I’d engage the services of an accountant and set myself up as a slumlord… er… property manager/investor.

$10mil in a conservative growth investment portfolio, $20mil on investment properties and houses for family and a clubhouse for my chosen local sporting group, $10mil on some really REALLY nice toys, and the last $10mil to charity?? I dunno.

Bit of a shame I’m not gonna buy a ticket, really.

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