$900,000,000 Mega Millions

[RoyGBiv]

Question for those with elaborate plans to maintain anonymity after winning: What if they won't pay up if you don't participate in the publicity?

Lawyer (as trustee of the Receiving Trust) can stand in.
I don't know if that's disallowed anywhere... State Lottery rules (location where ticket was purchased) should apply.

[jetfire]

If I won I’d just accept the money openly under my real name, wearing a t-shirt that says “Error in the victim selection process”

[JRB]

After the trusts and obfuscation and nice chunk of land, and toys, and getting my family & close friends set up - I'd put most of my charitable/philanthropic work into new gear, vehicles, and hiring bonuses for local LE.

Better still, if I could figure out how to lawfully give every single man and woman behind a badge in my entire county a sizable bonus (like $25k or thereabouts) just for wearing the badge, I would.
They get blasted by local media every other day it seems, nothing they ever do is good enough for a lot of the assholes in my city, and we're wondering why we barely have a single solo officer to respond to priority one calls and response times are lacking. Officers are getting worked to the bone and thanklessly WAY too often.

So if they need hiring bonuses to attract proper candidates? Done. Need better flashlights, optics, need some 6920's for everyone, need ammo & pro instruction for better qual scores? Done. Need better body armor or batman belts or sunglasses or body cams or whatever? Done. Need the $ to pay them for Chief's OT while they're getting real-world good training? Done.

That, and every local Family Readiness Group for every local Reserve and National Guard element will want for absolutely nothing.

[OlongJohnson]

Just in the five or so years I've been paying attention, public estimates of Bloomberg's personal net worth have increased from ~$39B to ~$53B.

Last night, I heard someone who would know things like that say that, to wealthy Russians, Trump was a poor American with his hand out.

What is ~$300M in that world?

[JRB]

Just in the five or so years I've been paying attention, public estimates of Bloomberg's personal net worth have increased from ~$39B to ~$53B.

Last night, I heard someone who would know things like that say that, to wealthy Russians, Trump was a poor American with his hand out.

What is ~$300M in that world?

A bug on the dinner plate just big enough to see, and squash if it annoys you. But that's a big enough chunk to make a real difference in a local city or town - and it's a big enough chunk to pay for some pro-gun political ads when needed.

Make the difference when and where you can, and with the means you have available.

[Darth_Uno]

Question for those with elaborate plans to maintain anonymity after winning: What if they won't pay up if you don't participate in the publicity?

I’d say, “Fine. I’m [real name], I just won the lottery, and **** Illinois.” Then I’d do a sweet burnout, yell, “Haters!” and ride off into the sunset.

[Jim Watson]

Ethical and practical question:

Should I win a ton of money, and wanted a gold digger/scammer/mugger filter, should I hire a friend - assuming appropriate skills and attitude - as a retainer or engage a disinterested pro?

[Lester Polfus]

Ethical and practical question:

Should I win a ton of money, and wanted a gold digger/scammer/mugger filter, should I hire a friend - assuming appropriate skills and attitude - as a retainer or engage a disinterested pro?

Combining money and friendship is a great way to f-up money and friendship.

[Totem Polar]

I could see hiring a friend or two on retainer... mostly bacause I have a friend or two who used to contract for the agency doing asset protection.

Here’s a serious question—at least, as serious as the topic warrants—relating to this idea of loved ones being put at risk of for-profit abduction. If a loved one is abducted, what are the laws (if any) about getting them back? What if they’re found to be held OCONUS (think Ross Perot, here)?

I really am asking. With 9 figures on hand, money isn’t an obstacle. I’m pretty sure that one or two phone calls, and a low-8 figure investment, could get a big old ball of "serious" steam rolling towards anyone inclined towards ransom kidnapping.

With the caveat that P-F prohibits any promotion of illegal activities, what ARE the legalities if it’s your people and you have, say, 15-25 mil to throw at the problem? Someone here knows what, if anything, the statutes say about such an outlying event. Clearly, Ross didn’t end up in the pokey. So long as this is all fantasy role playing anyways, what are the legalities? Could Bill Gates get a relative back, with his own resources, and be legal? I’m asking, because I’m genuinely curious.

[Peally]

For the right price someone somewhere is willing to put whatever APCs and helicopters their company owns at your disposal.