[Michael Chui]

Why do you think Bill Gates is funneling it all into philanthropy? Why do you think Warren Buffet threw up his hands and said, "Here, Gates, use it," like he does with every other company he's invested? The luxury thing is really, really boring. Though if you get enough people doing it, you'll start dickering over little things just so you have an excuse to start a war, which at the very least, is interesting.

A lot of the people here seem to be saying, "I'll fix up my life using this money." I would point out, to echo Baltar, that you could probably do that with about hundred thousand. If you want to be cushy, a couple million. If you want a dozen friends to be cushy, too, maybe 50-100 million. These are pretty much givens, when you get a billion dollars dumped in your lap.

The problem is: what do you do with the other 900 million?

Since there's no way I believe myself capable of judging NGOs on their competence, I think I'd join an angel investment group as a small timer, set up my will to split it pretty equally among my best friends as stewards, and travel the world (preferably first class). It would be a good opportunity to enhance my dinky little art collection. I figure I could burn 100-200 million this way. 300, if I really let it loose, and perhaps five, ten years or so.

The reason I want to travel the world isn't really to see it. I'd spend the rest of the money and my life on building a university, specifically funding research into psychology, sociology, genetic engineering, and aerospace engineering while simultaneously bringing a focus to undergraduate education of five to six years.

I figure, halfway through that, the money will have disappeared very magically but I'll have enough outside funding from my contacts all over the world and in investors' circles and general publicity to keep operations running until my death.