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Subscribe to RSSHopeful millionaires are swarming gas stations, convenience stores, and anywhere else selling Powerball tickets for a chance to win the game's biggest jackpot. NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports and a seven-time lottery winner reveals his strategies.
Forget toy cars, gingerbread houses and waiting in line to see Santa at the mall. If you’re lucky enough to win the record Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, your new holiday shopping list can include a real Lamborghini and a million-dollar custom-built home.
Oh, and Santa can plan to come to you.
There will be no need to think too hard about the price tags. The Powerball jackpot had jumped to a record $500 million by midday Tuesday, or $327.4 million if you take the cash option.
Of course, federal and state taxes will eat up a good chunk of that. But chances are you’ll still have enough left over to go on a serious holiday shopping spree.
Here are some items you'll want to consider:
A trip to the North Pole
You’re a millionaire now, so obviously you can’t just be content to visit Santa Claus at the mall. Why not go right to the source? Journeys International offers a two-week trip to the North Pole, including a champagne toast at the top of the world and copious opportunities to see polar bears, belugas and other wildlife. The trip starts at $23,995 per person, and a suite on the boat will run you nearly $35,000. Don’t forget to budget for the charter airfare and, of course, your designer outdoor gear.
Santa Claus
Tom Grill / Corbis stock
The downside to the North Pole trip is that it doesn’t happen until June. Maybe an actual visit from Santa is in order. The good news
is he makes house calls. SantaForHire.com promises real bearded Santas, with prices ranging from $150 to $300.
The best holiday meal
Neiman Marcus
If you win hundreds of millions of dollars, you clearly aren’t going to be cooking your family’s holiday dinner. For a mere $250,000, Neiman Marcus offers a private dinner for 10 featuring four of the world’s best-known chefs : Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Jerome Bocuse and Richard Rosendale.
The latest HDTV
LG
High-end TVs are always a popular item on the holiday wish list, and now that you’ve won the millions you might as well splurge on the latest technology. The LG 84LM9600 Ultra HD 4K LED LCD runs $16,999 and will give you those bragging rights.
Your dream home
Self-gifting is all the rage these days, and what better gift to give yourself than a custom-built dream home? The holiday gift guide from the Robb Report, a magazine for the world’s wealthiest individuals, notes that for a mere $14 million, architect Richard Meier will build you a dream home overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Puerto Rico.
A holiday hot rod
Lamborghini
No holiday wish list is complete without a top-of-the-line vehicle. The Robb Report recommends a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, a limited edition race car that runs more than $2 million.
A diamond tiara
tiffany.com
If you’ve won millions of dollars, you or your significant other is going to feel like royalty. Tiffany’s diamond tiara is a good option; a similar one recently sold for $135,000.
The best post-holiday vacation ever
The holidays are stressful, even for a multimillionaire, so you’ll probably want to plan a post-holiday getaway to a warm locale. The Robb Report’s recommendation: “Magic Moments,” a weeklong vacation for 24 guests hosted by world-famous illusionist David Copperfield on his private island in the Bahamas. It starts at $1.36 million.
Related:
What to buy when you win the $640 million Mega Millions
Leave a Comment:
It might be sad to think about, but with that kind of money you and your family really can't be out in public without security. Serious gated community with top notch 24x7 guards, kids in secure private schools. The risk of the kidnapping of family members for ransom really needs not to be discounted.
Tell nobody! Every second cousin will think they are entitled to a financial bail out, or the best lawyers each time they get into any kind of trouble.
Ummn Lets see, I would give every coworker in my department a couple of million each, ( including by supervisor ), I would at least pay off the mortgages of a few close friends, give 10% to charity, split the rest with my children and my sister and her children equally.
I would provide funding for a few hundred qualified, deserving couples to have IVF as a last chance option to start a family. I would fund another couple hundred adoptions as well. Pay the mortgage balance on a few of my familys homes and all of my friends. Purchase 10,000 acres somewere near the Teton mountain range. Build as much of it as I can myself before hiring a contractor,a large self sustaining homestead with an airstrip. Buy a plane and learn to fly it. Have a gun range on my property complete with all the guns I'm not allowed to have in California. Ridiculas sized garage complete with and not limited too. Winston cup Chevy SS, Audi TDI ALMS car, Ferrari powered F1 car and my kids will most likely want to see a monster truck in there as well. Pretty much after that I would invest all my time to my wife and making sure our kids stay humble and grounded.....Thanks all for the break from my day. Sure is fun to dream, God bless!
With $183 million dollars after taking cash option, i would do the following:
Set up trusts for me and my wives families
Give 20% to charities we will choose.
Another 20% for educational foundation.
Build eco-friendly house for about 1-2 million, take 1 trip every year.
Volunteer at an animal rescue and homeless shelter. Both which get a million dollars
First things first, hire an attorney and change my name, close my cell phone and personal phone number, sell my house and move out of state to a nice estate in Vermont for the summer, and the Texas Hill Country for the winter. Most likely move for limited amounts of time out of the country and don't flash too much cash.
Forget about those relatives that you never heard from in the last 10 years and that was only when you contacted them. Setup a trust fund for your family and only spend 1/2 of the income your new found wealth generates for EVERYONE. This way its a legacy that will last many lifetimes to come.
Buy a modest house away from civilization and stock it like a DD prepper with military bunker, arsenal, 10 year supply of food and water and a Range Rover and either Lincoln or Cadillac sedan. Help my family and extended family financially. Have a get together with my closest friends an their families for a week in Hawaii and Tahoe every year. Set up a trust for my children. Donate 10% to a charity who's CEO doesn't clear 6-7 digits a year. Yearly go to the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympics, Masters, British Open, Daytona and Indy 500, Final Four, BCS Championship, and college and little league world series.
Just getting depressed thinking about it and have to go back to work on Monday.
I would help my family & Church