What to do After Making a Billion dollars | Hacker News Reader

What to do After Making a Billion dollars

jamesaltucher.com

95 pointsjaltucher48 comments

Some thoughts on this.

First, thought certainly not a Billion dollars, I came into a substantial (relative to my normal circumstances) bit of cash soem time ago. His #1 point is dead on, it was a mistake I made and regret a lot (see: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511200 )

In fact all of the advice looks good.

Except: "The No-Friends Rule"

The premise is sensible, do not donate to your mates, and definitely not to new mates, or old ones you forgot you had. But I don't buy that loaning to friends is a generally bad idea.

I lent a fairly substantial amount to a friend because they had run into financial hardship. We called it a loan because they refused to take it as a gift, but I'm not going to ask for it back.

One of my other mates has a fairly mad idea for a business that he always (for years) wanted to try. I funded that about 18 months ago and it is currently in the balance between outright failure and setting him up with a business for the next 20 years. Again, not expecting the money back.

It is only fucking money. You can enrich other peoples lives with it, so why not. No one needs a Billion dollars, but I know most of my friends could have awesome life changing experiences with a tiny portion of that.

So, yeh, don't become a charity... but always give to your friends.

You don't mention the amount you got, but I suspect it's much more than I ever got or currently earn (which is a lot for me (19, always been unemployed)) but I feel this line relates to me:

"there was no sense of ownership on the expensive items"

This is something that I absolutely hate. I have money I don't feel I deserve because it wasn't through hard work and because of this when it comes to buying something I don't think "I have to work x hours for this, is it going to return enough value to me that I am willing to work x hours for this?" as I do when I earn money, I think "I have money why not?" and this really causes problems. I bought an iPhone a few days ago because they seem cool, I already own a nexus one that works perfectly fine, but because I didn't invest any time into buying it I don't really care for it.

Humans are weird...

Oh, there's no secret, it was a couple of hundred thousand. I never gave the figure because it still feels like bragging. Enough to make me not worry if I lose my job, not enough to live the high life.

You're right about the ownership - and the earning of money. I made a sum total of about £25 from a single book sale this month, but it feels worth more than the money I got from my job. I'm damn well spending that money on something specific.

I could have got a decorator in to paint my spare room (turning it into an office) but I did it myself, it looks a bit crappy in places, but it feels awesome :) To me the cost of a decorator is ultimately valueless, even though he could do a much better job.

On the other hand I hate washing my car so I pay to get it done.

"Value" and "Worth" are strange concepts.

"there was no sense of ownership on the expensive items"

I have never had much money, but had the same experience 10 years ago when I downloaded lots of games for "free". I never had any patience with the games and most of them were uninstalled the same evening. Games simply didn't interest me much.

Now I only play games that I have bought and have a much better experience with them because I can focus on a few games at a time. If I was wealthy and the price of games meant less I would probably end up in the same situation as I was 10 years ago

The point here is to know your friends. The ones you have had good times with, and that might have been a cause of your success. They certainly deserve it. You are also going to give a tiny portion and it's going to be a loan/investment.

OT: Followed the books link. The author seems like a pretty shady character. Got his wife to write a glowing Amazon review of his book, under a misleading name.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2PELDZ9QQX0C3/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt...

Makes me wonder how he came into that money he mentioned at the start of the Billion Dollars post...

Haha. Maybe my wife just loves me. Notice she went through my last book and found out how each stock performed. I'm grateful she did that since I never asked her to do it. I was afraid to look at how the stocks had done.

Check out my blog: jamesaltucher.com. then you can see how shady I am

While not shady, the repeated links to follow you on twitter detracted from the article. It also made me trust your writing a little less. Just sayin.

Travis, thats a constructive criticism. Thanks.

Maybe it's just your wife who's shady: no matter how much she loves you, it was deceitful of her to review your book so positively without indicating the connection between the two of you, particularly since that connection probably means she also benefits financially from sales of your book. But I suppose that's a bit like insider trading, which I hear is actually ethical and should be legalized[1].

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Altucher#Ideas_and_Theori...

If you want to argue about that we can. But why should we argue? its late at night. And ultimately we all die eventually. Maybe my wife is shady. Check out her blog: claudiayoga.com and you'll see how she helps people.

It seems you're finding out how CSS and top google results impact on one's image. A nice stylesheet can turn an affiliate marketing site white-hat (quantnet.com) and the wrong colours, font or too many twitter links will make your site look black-hat.

It's actually odd. I've had pretty decent windfalls come my way a few times and after it happens, all the crap I'd wanted so desperately while I was broke, suddenly wasn't that important. Case in point: I found a blue '69 Chevrolet nova at a pawn shop for $3,000. If I was broke, I'd have stayed awake at night dreaming about that car and "saving up" for it. Yet I had more than enough at the time to buy it outright, and prepay all the fees it'd need for the next year. But I looked at it and had no desire at all to get it. Same thing happened with a luxury watch I was looking at. REALLY wanted it when I couldn't get and once I could my attitude was "I don't need to spend $8,000 on a watch." I guess when my big one comes, I'll be ok. Just my $0.02 on the subject.

That has been my experience too. Sometimes the chase is better than the catch..

I do this. I have a huge list of things I want to buy, but when the cash appears I always say "no lets wait" or "lets get something more practical".

I've been dreaming over getting a new PC, but I actually got a dishwasher instead, because it actually meant I could spend more time on my own projects.

I'd like to add two more:

- Think about the idea you would have tried if someone had lent you $1M and you wanted to change the world. Lend yourself $1M (only) and do it.

- Resist the urge to become a professional philanthropist. Have the gumption to dream even bigger than before and risk utter failure. It's only money.

Grandalf, love both those ideas.

I was in a discussion group onceand the tutor asked us "what would you do if your company was sold and tomorrow you found yourself with a million pounds".

Of course, most of us came up with various philanthropic ideas and ways to save the world/do good etc. Except one mate who said "I'd take it and go make £10 Million, then I'd give you all a £1 Million each. Then I'd do it all over again".

> Resist the urge to become a professional philanthropist. Have the gumption to dream even bigger than before and risk utter failure. It's only money.

I would rewrite this comment to replace "philanthropist" with "check-writer." There are two kinds of philanthropists just as there are two kinds of investors. There are check writers who donate their money, take as much credit as they can and don't do anything else. In contrast, there are truly great philanthropists who get involved in the causes they give to, leverage their connections, and contribute time and expertise. To a nonprofit, the first type is merely another thing to be managed (make sure they get enough credit to stay happy but don't soak up too much time and energy) while the second type is invaluable.

I like the part about waiting one year before making any major life changes. It makes sense that you would be more risky with new found wealth immediately after acquiring it. Giving yourself time to "get to know" your money should help put things in perspective.

I like that part too but it might be simply too strict. The point is to keep lifestyle changes reasonably small during that first year. Replace your old car worth $10k with a new $40k one (but not $200k) and don't buy many cars. Move from a $0.5M apartment to a $3M home (but not $15M) and preferably rent it for now, you will have better idea what you really like to buy after that year. There's no reason you couldn't get some reward for your hard work - but you need to make it small to don't fall into spending spree.

Imagine an Amazon delta dweller who suddenly got a $50K estate and moved to Miami. The choices of goods and services are nothing like he seen before, and their cost is nothing he can relate to. He might overpay a lot, tip too excessively, get things he doesn't need and do not invest into services that are truly necessary.

Which I think was the point of the advice, take a time out to figure out the value of things in your new price range.

I think the most you can push that rule is repair. If you were not quite satisfied with your apartment because it doesn't have in suite washer/dryer, go and pay an extra $100-$300 a month and get one that does. Get those small things that are cheap, but not really justifiable and reduce your stress level.

Back in 1999-2000, I knew a guy that sold his website about $20m (a few million in cash, the rest in stock of the buying company). Within a month he had spent around $3m on a new home and his wife had a $20k/month shopping habit. It was then things got ugly---the tech market crash, legal problems from the sale of his company and a high maintenance wife. From what I've been able to find, he no longer has the wife, the house, a company or the money.

So yeah, I can see waiting a year before any major lifestyle changes.

I was with you until the home (although I wouldn't spend that much on a car right away either - miserly college days habit). Sure, you can update your beater car or move out of that bad neighborhood. If you're living in an environment that is hostile, dangerous, or just unhealthy then by all means improve your situation, but I can't imagine many people who suddenly earn millions who are in a housing situation that justifies a $3MM upgrade. I think it might desensitize you to the power of your new wealth, and set you up for trouble down the road.

I'd suggest just learning how to say No to friends. Why put up bogus reasons? Just say no.. they ask why? "Because I said so. Ask me in a year."

i'm confused as to why the title of the piece on his website is "what to do after making a ZILLION dollars" whereas it was posted here on ycombinator news (apparently by the author) under "what to do after making a billion dollars".

to me, "zillion" implies a certain amount of snarkieness, which is more fitting for the article. "billion" implies a more straightforward analysis, perhaps more befitting of the HN crowd.

just an observation.

Two chicks at the same time

Actually a pretty solid advice and in accordance with the article.

Do that.

Postpone all the rest for a year.

That doesn't take a billion dollars. Hookers are cheap (even if you go for the higher quality ones) and if you have more time than money, there are URLs that can help you http://themysterymethod.net/, http://realsocialdynamics.com/ etc.

Or the real shortcut: be a cocky, funny and extremely self confident asshole. For more details see roissy.wordpress.com.

Finally, a warning: plenty of plenty of people who venture down this route end up loosing any and all respect they ever had for women. The benefit is (potentially) at lot of sex.

As someone who has been down this route, IMO taking the lead, being good-humoured and having sex with a shitload of women is _entirely_ mutually exclusive with not respecting them. It's exactly this kind of thinking that a) makes women feel ashamed about their sexuality (thus making it harder for everyone involved to get laid, especially women) and b) casts the 'seduction community' in an overwhelmingly negative light.

And paying for it is bad for your soul dude.

As an atheist, I don't need a soul anyway.

But I don't plan on going down that route myself.

Two insanely hot chicks at the same time < FTFY

I've never heard that chess saying before. That's one to remember.

"Only good players get lucky."

Yeah, I think that was the best line in the whole post.

Bummed I can't find any other reference to that saying on the internet.

I think it was Gary Player that said 'Sure I'm lucky, and the more I practice the luckier I get.'

I think American's need to read this article, scale it down, and apply it to their own lives. I love how people think just because you earned a bunch of money you are entitled to spend it on a bunch of crap, whether today or in a year...

On exactly what grounds do you suggest that people who earned a bunch of money aren't entitled to spend it on whatever crap they want?

If you change "money" to "credit" his point makes more sense. People spending credit they've earned, rather than money, is what causes problems.

On the grounds that you don't have to run out and buy anything just because you can.

I'm not really sure I understand the attitude, except to guess that you're just trolling.

Regardless, I suppose they have considerably more right to waste their money how they wish than you do in telling them what to do with it.

Other people disagree: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2311274

I find that post to be extremely scary and reading it gives me a feeling of visceral revulsion.

That was disappointing. This doesn't tell me what to do with a billion dollars at all, it tells me what not to do for one year. Okay I wait a year... then what? Beyond typical "invest wisely" advice, there might be things you can do with a billion dollars that I can't even conceive of.

Buy an island and populate it with beautiful naked women? Fund a nuclear fusion project? Build a high speed Mag-Lev train system between Washington DC and New York? Or do you invest in longevity, brain-scan and cryogenics research in attempt to be the first human to live forever?

You look at what the people who actually have a billion dollars are doing. Gates, Soros, and Buffet are heavily involved in philanthropy. Zuck, Jobs, Larry, and Sergey are mostly sitting tight. Ellison is living the high life, and Trump is being Trump. Branson's doing the closest to what you're talking about, but mostly in money-making ways.

The point is, none of them are being stupid, and all of them are doing, for the most part, what they'd be doing if they weren't billionaires.

Don't operate under the delusion that fabulous wealth will change who you are as a person. If you aren't happy as a thousandaire, you won't be happy as a billionaire. The one gift that money like that gives you is the time and opportunity to pursue what's important to you, but you've done something wrong if you're not doing that already.

zuck donated 100MM to newark school district. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/education/23newark.html

also he has signed the "Giving Pledge" started by Gates and Buffet to donate most of his wealth. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870349350457600...

that's certainly not sitting tight.

That was just recently, though. Also, there's a huge difference between writing a check and being heavily involved in philanthropy. Gates et al pursue philanthropy as they pursued their careers, but Zuck's is more of a fire and forget style of charity. I'm not blaming him for it; he's a busy guy and it'd be stupid for him to adopt the Gates model while facebook places the demands on his time that it does. Were it not for TSN, he likely would have never done either, not because he's Scrooge but because it's just not a big deal to him.

Which kind of goes back to my point. He's doing essentially the same thing as a billionaire that he was when he was running facebook from his dorm room.

This is one of the author's better posts. Some of it seems reminiscent of Paul & Moynihan's "What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars", particularly the point of confusing rapid success in one area (stocks or poker) with the necessary expertise to invest in a new area (hotels in the blog post, thoroughbred horses in the book).

I will echo another comment, however. Three "Follow me on Twitter" links in a single article came across as desperate begging rather than offering extra value to the reader.

Buy/create a nation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917

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