If Bill gave you a Billion...

[Dbarker]

Nneka,
I like the school idea. I do think that I am looking for something similar, although I would like to be able to create something that could be replicable on a widespread basis. I have been working with our staff, and soon our students, on using their strengths to excel. I think I would add a component of that in the school.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Nneka

If I got a billion dollars from Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or anyone else, I would open a school for K-12 that does spiritual enrichment, explores different cultures and religions, financial literacy, and teaches the usual reading, writing, and arithmetic. There would be a lot of experiential learning with annual trips to different countries for all ages.

My vision for the school is that it be 20-50% scholarship students. The parents would have to volunteer a minimum of 2 hours a week. If your child is on scholarship, you would have to volunteer more hours.

I would also start a parallel center where the parents can do life enhancement courses in health, financial literacy, spirituality, and relationships.

I want to do the project like Disney World (or Land, the one in Orlando) on acres and acres of land with a buffer to the city. When students and parents arrive on campus, I want them to feel like they have entered another world.

I want to create this school with leaders in all fields academic and otherwise. For example, I want to higher architects that can create a space that blends the inside with the outside and has nooks for meditation along with open play areas entangled with classroom areas.

This is my life dream. Even if I don't get a billion dollars from Bill or Warren, I will create it.

This is *exactly* my idea as well. Something I've thought about for years.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by stephencp

What would you do if Bill Gates (or Warren Buffet....) gave you a Billion dollars - no strings attached...

Stephen
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I guess, I would need to think about....having that kind of wealth....wow.

It was Sir Richards Branson, who was onced asked, what was it like to have so much money? He said, 'Great Wealth, comes with great responsiibilites'. I am glad there are people like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet....and me one day...LOL.... ....because these people have thousands upon thousands of people working for them, who in turn depend up their salaries to pay their mortgages and domestic requirements in turn committing even more money spinning around the economies of the world.

So I think I would take the money from Bill, then ask him, how should I use it to best serve others.....(Oh yes and spoil myself rotten....well why not)

G

[Eli]

Stephencp
Nice thought: I work for the good of others and have more free time for school and work to find the real me. Maybe I will try and manifest that for myself. Peace. Eli

[mtrimpe]

I would set up a website where everyone can put up an intention that focuses on the benefit of the world as a whole.

So for example, I would like to add these intentions among others:

• Every human being has access to 2000 calories worth of food each day.
• Every human being has access to 4 liters of clean water each day.
• Every human being has access to at least 20 square meters of private shelter.
• Every human being has access to either the heating or the clothes to keep his body warm.
• Every human being only takes from others what is freely given.
• No human being tries to force his personal opinion upon others.
• etc. etc.

Then I would let every human being submit actions that he has taken or results he has achieved towards the manifestation of these intentions, so that you could make known that you used your savings and went to Africa to dig a well for a remote village to manifest the intention of providing everyone in this world with clean water. If you did this together with your partner and your children you could indicate that you believe you and and your partner contributed 30% each and that your two children contributed 20% each.

Then I would give everyone the opportunity to comment on these actions, so that if I checked the story out and found out that you never dug that well or that you charged the village 10.000 dollars for digging the well, I could also make it known.

Then, every day for a 1000 days, I would distribute 1.000.000 dollars among those that have taken some action or achieved something towards the manifestation of these global intentions. To do this fairly I would let every man record how he would use today's 1 million dollars to reward actions taken and results achieved.
To determine how he wants to distribute the rewards he can simply view the intentions he desires to manifest, view what actions were taken, view what others had to say about these actions and decide with what percentage of the million dollars he would like to reward the action taken/the result achieved.

Then at the end of every day the system would calculate the averages of this distribution (so if 10 people voted on the distribution and one of them voted to give 100% of the reward to a single action, that action would receive 10% of the reward) and then distribute it amongst the people that have taken these actions/achieved these results.

All in all, I think that would give quite a boost towards global charity. Maybe soon more people would be willing to donate some money to the system and who knows, perhaps one day we will donate everything we earn to the system, to the world. And well, then there won't really be any money anymore. We'll live in a world where we just help each other achieve our shared intentions without any financial motivation whatsoever.

Sounds like fun!

[ticktockclok]

I would equally distribute the money throughout the world.....

by buying 100000 tickets for every lottery in existence.

[norbert]

I'd create passive income streams using that money, then return twice as much and see what else I can do for him.

[openeyes]

So many great ideas on this thread. I particularly like smallstar’s way of thinking: “research. Especially: new forms of energy, transportation, materials, communication and medicine. Then, when one of my companies makes a key discovery, I'll be even richer.”

Even if I felt I didn’t yet know what to do with a billion dollars, I’d still accept it, and seek out the best people to help it grow while I (with the aid of others I hire) figured out the best things to do with the interest of 50 to 100 million+ per year. Spending more than the interest would be shied away from, as I’d be focused on building something that could go on indefinitely, at least for a couple centuries (or however long money is used).

My personal lifestyle could likely be covered for just a few million per year (a few houses in nice areas around the world, private helicopter to bypass traffic and small things like a driver, cook, gardener, maid, several sports cars, an aerobatic plane for recreation, first class travel whenever and wherever I want, and the simple ability to be able to buy most anything I come across without worrying about cost).

I have friends that have recently graduated college who are already working with non-profits who I would give healthy stipends (50 to 100 grand yearly) to do whatever they saw the most potential in for helping others (while providing advisors to help them figure out how best to direct their energy), and much more funding would be available if/when necessary.

There are many excellent charities such as Carolina for Kibera that need only a million dollars or so in order to form a trust that would sustain them indefinitely (60 to 100 grand per year). Such charities are often considered too small for the likes of Gates to look at.

I would seek out visionaries with great ideas such as Win Wenger and see what they could do with the proper funding. Much of my focus would be on technological developments, particularly in the longevity (~ immortality) field, along with medical remedies that would be too cheap (and possibly not even patentable) for pharmaceutical companies to finance.

To me, even a billion dollars is less than I could use for some developments. Funding for a space elevator, which would make entry into space affordable for the masses, could be only a few Billion $. Faster air travel, such as scram jets, would also be a sweet option.

[ethereal]

Spiritual enrichment for sure, just to allow everybody the chance to know about spirituality. Money and technology and new gadgets may be more convenient, but they don't make us happy; only inner fulfillment does, and spirituality helps plug that needed hole in society. Steve's idea about supporting lightworkers and allowing them to work on their purpose without worrying about money seems to be a good idea, probably something I'd do with the money as well. One person at a high level of consciousness can do so much with the proper resources and support, it doesn't even compare to what money can buy or do.

[dgorila1]

First I would take a large chunk of it and invest it for "perpetual income" so I (or my heirs) would always have money coming in. I would then take a lonnnnnnnng "vacation" in various spots around the world to rejuvinate myself and my family, clear my mind, and make a list of ways I could use the money to help mankind. I wouldn't need a huge sum to live on, so the majority would be used for these causes. If the money was invested right, there would always be money available for the various causes I choose to support. I would have a foundation set up to control the money and continue to support these causes even after my death.

[Saidin]

Say: "Thank you!"

[Rene]

To me the question is if you wanna experience guarantee through money or personal intrinsic satisfaction.

Sure I would have plans spending this money. On the other side I think it is more fun to make money on your own.

What would you do if I gave you a million/billion in some years?

[jamasiel]

I guarantee I could find ways to blow through lots of it materially...

But-
honestly, I would do lots for myself and my loved ones in a material sense.
But even my fantasies can be accomplished with much less than a billion, so yes, there'd be definite charitable goals - I'd help fund this charter school Nneka's discussing , set up foundations for education, disease research, peace, human rights, act as an anonymous "angel" for many less fortunate - e.g. shelter for homeless, pay off debts for working poor, build a business which could create a wide spread of jobs, I liked the angel-investor idea.

In all of this, of course, lawyers and accountants would be hired to manage it - protection, investment, tracking, etc.

[Jaben]

The first thing I'd do is quit my current job and spend my time finding ways to help as many people as possible find abundance in their daily lives. It seems most of are in the rat race, enslaved by fear, greed and belief in scarcity. This causes much suffering and is even damaging to Earth's environment. I believe the fault is built into the design of our (recently turned global) economy. If I were given a billion dollars today I think I would spend a million or two researching any previous attempts at creating alternative exchange systems and then if it seems promising I would conduct my own experiment.

With my current knowledge the experiment would be something like this:

I would create 500 million of say AFA (Abundance for All) dollars. Then I would select a few thousand people to disperse the new currency to. I would select people who have already invested in sustainable resources such that I would have as close to a complete as possible exchange economy. That is, those in the circle who received the AFA dollars would have everything they need and want available to them in the exchange using mostly if not only AFA dollars. So I would need people who can provide food, energy, tools and machines, transportation, shelter, entertainment, personal development and everything else the people in the exchange need or want. It will be key that these people believe in peace and abundance for all and have the skills and determination to pull it off.

I would back the AFA dollars with the US dollars that I was given at a 1 to 1 exchange rate if for some reason this exchange economy failed. I would only request a few rules.
1. There would be no tax on any exchange.
2. Negative to no interest rates would be allowed on savings or loans.
3. I would encourage the price of goods and services to be set to cover the cost of creating the good or service, no more.

I believe a currency setup in this manner would encourage cooperation, sustainability and abundance for all. I believe this economy could be very prosperous.

After I had this in place I would use the rest of the money to either back more AFA dollars or use for any unforeseen challenges or requirements for success.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Jaben

I would back the AFA dollars with the US dollars that I was given at a 1 to 1 exchange rate if for some reason this exchange economy failed. I would only request a few rules.
1. There would be no tax on any exchange.

There are communities around the world, such as Ithaca, NY that have local currencies, and elsewhere you may come across the "liberty dollar", but the IRS still considers means of exchanging value taxable. Another interesting currency I'd come across nearly a decade ago is e-gold, where everything is 100% backed by gold (or you can choose silver, palladium, etc), and international exchanges via e-gold between individuals are just as smooth as local ones. I haven't used it for a while though, in part because it was a little clumsy (fees and few days time) to have dollars turned into e-gold and back, but it's actually quite simple if one leaves it in e-gold form. I love how people keep coming up with new possibilities.

[Erock]

I'd go to college in california.

[ddgrooves]

[QUOTE=Nneka;22363]If I got a billion dollars from Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or anyone else, I would open a school for K-12 that does spiritual enrichment, explores different cultures and religions, financial literacy, and teaches the usual reading, writing, and arithmetic. There would be a lot of experiential learning with annual trips to different countries for all ages.

Lucky for you NNEKA - these schools already exist and definitely cost more than a Billion dollars. Check out the Ron Clark Academy in Georgia (6 - 8)- and the K - 12 school in Iowa. Maharishi school systems. I found them by going to the SECRET.tv website and looking up John Hagelin who ran for president in 2000 on a personal development platform. I wish I would have known - I would have voted for him.

As for my billion dollars - I'd join forces with these visionaries and I would probably back someone like that for president.

[tomjen]

It is interesting because there there a question along the lines but with only about $6 million - then my answer would be mostly along the lines of investing it (to be used by myself and my family).

A billion on the other hand maybe enough to jumpstart a replacement for the Air industri - given how much it pollutes and how much I hate flying (small seats, insane regulations, etc) - I would spend the money starting a company flying zeppelins (with hellium, and possibly a more modern design) across the atlantic ocean.

The only problem is that it takes 2 days versus 8-12 hours for a plane. I am hoping too make it up with more luxury (it should be doable because it is a lot less expensive to lift a ton in a zeppelin than an airplane) - I hope eventually to drastically reduce the use of airplains for personal transport.

But the dream doesnt stop here - I could use the same to transport goods faster (and properly not much more expensive) than a ship.

I will have to admit that the school idea sounds good to - and you could properly plaster the entire african continent with schools. But if I can get the other business running first, I could do all that and more.

Now where do I get a Billion bucks?

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by tomjen

A billion on the other hand maybe enough to jumpstart a replacement for the Air industri - given how much it pollutes and how much I hate flying (small seats, insane regulations, etc) - I would spend the money starting a company flying zeppelins (with hellium, and possibly a more modern design) across the atlantic ocean.

The only problem is that it takes 2 days versus 8-12 hours for a plane. I am hoping too make it up with more luxury (it should be doable because it is a lot less expensive to lift a ton in a zeppelin than an airplane) - I hope eventually to drastically reduce the use of airplains for personal transport.

But the dream doesnt stop here - I could use the same to transport goods faster (and properly not much more expensive) than a ship.

Have you read about the groups (Aeroscraft and Dynalifter) who are currently working on this?

The Flying Luxury Hotel - Popular Science

"The craft would have a range of several thousand miles and, with an estimated top speed of 174 mph, could traverse the continental U.S. in about 18 hours. During the flight, passengers would peer at national landmarks just 8,000 feet below or, if they weren't captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants, even a casino."

Aeroscraft Video

The videos really make me want one for a primary home.

Welcome to Worldwide Aeros Corporation!

***Welcome to Dynalifter.com!***

Herald Star Online

"Without the need for a ground crew, Dynalifter saves money compared with operating a blimp or other kind of airship. And with its lifting capability and speed advantage over ships, (a Transatlantic voyage would take about 32 hours), Martin and Rist see Dynalifter filling an untapped middle ground in the shipping of goods around the globe."

[ElizaJ]

William Henry Gates III would never give anyone a billion dollars. He is a manipulatorr, a liar, and an unenthical person, and Microsoft is run the same way. This man does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. His charitable organization is a facade meant to hide Microsoft's shenanigans and shady deals and nothing more.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by ElizaJ

William Henry Gates III would never give anyone a billion dollars. He is a manipulatorr, a liar, and an unenthical person, and Microsoft is run the same way. This man does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. His charitable organization is a facade meant to hide Microsoft's shenanigans and shady deals and nothing more.

So we can't therefore hypothesize what we'd do with a billion dollars, freely given?

[Liara Covert]

If I was to be given a billion dollars with no option of refusing or returning it, I would consult a lawyer to open a blind trust to accept the money as an anonymous trustee. If at all possible, I wouldn't publicize my name with this money. All charity donations and projects would be done anonymously.

I like many ideas which have been stated. Similar to Jaben, I would change my life to focus more on empowering others to realize the benefits of understanding the power of positive thinking and the abundance mindset.

I would consult financial advisors to set up investment planning to ensure that like Nobel Prizes, the principal could grow and interest could finance things like:

a) an educational foundation: to undertake projects that raise awareness of literacy, writing, arithmetic, spiritual and cultural values worldwide. Scholarships would be available for learning and grants would be available to build/ repair schools and provide teaching materials as well as to fund innovative teaching programs like International Space University and Highschools which take place on ships which sail around the world and offer practical education in different countries. I like Ablix's idea which would invite parents to be involved in schooling for their children. I would also donate money to charities such as summer camps for sick children and the Children's Wish Foundation where terminally-ill children could realize dreams.

b) raising health awareness: to finance vaccinations, train doctors, midwives and health professionals, support doctors-without-borders in developing countries, and to support hospital projects like Dr. Catherine Hamelin's hospital in Ethiopia which was built to perform life-saving fistula operations.

c) scientific and environmental research projects: to develop and research energy-saving alternatives and encourage changes in lifestyle, reduce global warming and other natural disasters. I would offer incentives to develop teleportation & other means of travel which don't depend on fossil fuels.

mtrimpe has interesting ideas, but since 2/3 of the planet doesn't yet have access to telephones, then a global vision for the Internet may not work as effectively as if this was combined other approaches.

Like Ethereal, I would also devote more effort to my own spiritual development. This would include trips to remote, spiritual places like Bhutan.

[ElizaJ]

Perhaps you need to choose a better candidate than William Henry Gates III from whom to receive the billion dollars, otherwise you'll be waiting all eternity.

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

So we can't therefore hypothesize what we'd do with a billion dollars, freely given?

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by ElizaJ

Perhaps you need to choose a better candidate than William Henry Gates III from whom to receive the billion dollars, otherwise you'll be waiting all eternity.

Alright, well, if you get it, just give it to me.

[ElizaJ]

When I get my first billion $$, I'm keeping it, but you can always come work for me!

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by ElizaJ

When I get my first billion $$, I'm keeping it, but you can always come work for me!

That would be too much like working for Microsoft.

[ElizaJ]

Me, like Microsoft? Nah, you've got the wrong person. I'm not into being underhanded and using shady tactics to make money.

[Caveman Joe]

I'm surprised to see so many posters saying that they would give to charity anonymously. Wouldn't it be a much more effective way of combatting greed to have such unselfish acts publicised, to inspire others?
Personally, I'd give away every single damn penny of that money. Which may be difficult.
Firstly, I'd invite some people over, and pay them a large salary to help and advise me in the mammoth task of getting rid of the money. Steve Pavlina, for one, if he'd be interested. Spider Robinson, for his imagination, intelligence, optimism and ability to see the Big Picture. Perhaps Bill Gates - I don't know. Facade or not, his charitable organisation has helped a bunch of people, and he's good at managing large sums of money, so he'd probably be an excellent resource.
Then, I'd phone up the BBC and say "Hey, I'm going to travel around the world giving away five hundred million quid - wanna send a camera crew and make a series about it?"
Meanwhile, I'd set up a website to accompany the series, and start monetizing it. This will be my money, to spend on myself and the ones who are close to me. The original billion will be money for the rest of the world.
I'd take the advice of Bill, Spider and Steve into account while coming up with things to spend the money on, but here are some things I want to do regardless:

1. Invest in the One Laptop Per Child initiative. Let's be honest, although it may not be politically correct to say this: Africa is ************ed. Their social structure has completely broken down, their economy is laughable, fundamentalist religion is sweeping the country like some vast, unstoppable plague (teaching them that condoms don't protect against AIDS and other such evil, despicable bollocks), and the Government makes Saddam look like Mister Rogers. The only thing that can help them right now is education, and that's what OLPC does, starting with the kids. It provides tools to help you think and communicate - which should hopefully kick off something to topple the Government.
Granted, it may take a bloody, vicious revolution to do it, but I say bring it on - as long as we and the USA keep their noses out of it.

2. Extend that principle to already-developed countries, establishing broadband lines everywhere we can. Get the USA's communication networks up to speed, and change the culture a little bit to ensure that everybody can talk to each other.

3. Build an arcade for disabled kids. I blogged about this a little while ago, and here it is:
JAMMA Forever - Accessibility-Aware Video Game Hacks

And, um... that's it, so far - for getting rid of the rest, I'd have to talk to whoever I included in the consortium. I'd get rid of all the money, and rely on monetising the site and getting some wages off the series in order to live a comfortable life for myself and my loved ones.

[rene_stpierre]

Wow! here goes ...

(1) Quit current job
(2) 2-week trip to Tahiti with my wife
(3) Give $1M to brother and parents (same on in-laws side)
(4) Buy everything else we want to have

Now that I have taken care of myself and our close relatives ...

Dedicate the rest of my life to help others succeed in life.

René

[viola]

If I was given a billion dollar, I would continue doing as I am doing right now.