When I was little, I used to imagine all the things I would buy if I were a billionaire: a fancy car with a driver to go with it (because I was too young to drive back then), a huge mansion with 50 bedrooms, and a personal chef who would cook me pizza anytime I wanted.
While those aren’t the things I want anymore (well, I still do want the house… and the driver), I still have a list of things I would buy if I were a billionaire.
Redditors do as well, and they’re ready to share what the first things on those lists.
It all started when Redditor TrinityLisbon asked:
“If you suddenly became a billionaire, what's the first thing you would buy?”
Some people chose decadence.
The Good Life
“Someone to rub my feet while I eat $5,000 lobster tails drenched in truffle butter.”
– 8inchSalvattore
Spend It All In One Place
"I’m finally gonna try that Avocado toast I’ve heard so much about."
– Tigerchestnut13
"Aaaaaand it’s gone"
– Woolbuckle
Eat And Eat And Eat
"If we were to say literally the first thing, I’m thinking a crazy expensive dinner. I live in NYC. There would be something freeing about walking into a Michelin star restaurant and buying a $500pp tasting menu maybe with another $200pp wine pairing plus dessert, and not caring about the cost. I would drop several grand on an amazing meal and not think twice about it."
– Runningaroundnyc
"From the perspective of a lifelong cook who's tired of figuring out what to make for supper, I'd hire a top notch chef and not deal with having to prepare meals, ever. Enjoy amazing food all the time."
– DamnDame
Others were ready with the humor.
What Kind?
"House"
– HuguenotPirate
"Yes! The House of Representatives! Maybe the Senate too…"
– NorthNorthAmerican
"I feel like Hugh Laurie is still worth more than that"
– Flimsy_Finger4291
A Lot Of Green
"I would go do a mega grocery shop. Buy like four heads of broccoli."
– butt-sandwich
"Baller. Stop stuntin' on us."
– OHPAORGASMR
"I think you could afford to splurge a little bit..."
"You can finally buy some lettuce!"
– ApricotPenguin
A Whole Country!
"Italy. Definitely Italy"
– honeydewslayer
"You would buy Italy? I'm not an expert but I think it would cost more than a billion."
– MatureHotwife
Some were practical.
My Shiny Teeth And Me
"I'd fix my teeth. Buy a new roof."
– GeekyBookWorm87
"Teeth are my first lottery win priority as well. I’m lucky I have dental insurance- but I still can’t afford the copays on the major work I need done. That and the anxiety I have around being in a dentist chair. With too much money to care what it would cost I could hire a good cosmetic dentist that could put me under twilight anesthesia and I’d wake up and be done with it."
– Taxitaxitaxi33
Pay It Off
"Debt. Pay off all my and my family’s debt, mortgages, credit cards etc Then I’d pay off my friends and keep going Then I’d buy myself something nice"
– azmr_x_3
The Real Necessities
"The first thing I'd buy if I became a billionaire would be a personal assistant to help me manage all of my newfound wealth. And maybe a lifetime supply of pizza, because let's face it, money can't buy happiness, but it can buy pizza, which is pretty close."
– Azekan7370
Still others were thinking of all the good deeds the money could do.
Education Above All
"Start a school for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who have the drive to succeed. Remove as many barriers to their academic success as possible and track their outcomes. Small classes, full lab activities, teaching assistants, nutrition and health support…coaches, subject specialist teachers, arts programs… I would need a strong team to plan, organize, develop a program. I’ve considered this for a while"
– troutinthemilk
For Those Who Need It
"My state collects $25 million per year for bus fares. First thing I'd do is pay all bus fares for the next 10 years. I figure that will help with global warming, traffic, cleaner air, less oil wars and decrease the power of people like the ones who caused 9/11 and the invasion of Ukraine."
"And most of all, would put money in the pockets of the people who need it most. Thus it would be a great contributor to state commerce."
"Plus, I'd offer double that amount to expand bus service thruout more of my state."
– Adventurous_Oil_5805
Many Thanks (To Family)
"I'd buy my parents their dream ranch. I owe them the world."
– thespeculatorinator2
"My mum a house"
– Key-Ad-264
"I'd buy my mom and my MIL and myself and my bros a house."
– MangoBanana2012
"That house is gonna be crowded"
– ThunderAndSadness
But of course, there's nothing wrong with using money to make life a little bit easier.
No More Chores
"Hire a housekeeper, nutritionist, chef & personal trainer. That way I always have a clean home, tasty nutritious meals & a really personalized workout plan"
– theimpetusme
“I'd get a chauffeur too. I f*cking hate driving.”
– LatexHorseboy
Now those are people who know how to live!
What would you do with the money? Let us know in the comments below!
People Debate The First Thing They'd Do If They Woke Up With A Billion Dollars In The Bank
Haven't we all wondered what we'd do if we had a billion dollars in the bank?
Of course we have. They say that "money can't buy happiness" but we all know that that's ridiculous. The truth is that having enough money would solve most of the average person's problems, especially when their problems typically revolve around making sure that they can pay all their bills on time and keep a roof over their heads.
People told us what they'd do if they could only be so lucky once Redditor Stef4nos asked the online community:
"You suddenly wake up a Billionaire. What do you do?"
"Nothing..."
"Nothing until I’m sure it wasn’t a bank error."
maxpower7833
Ah, a smart person here. Yes, best be careful!
"Transfer it..."
"Transfer it off shore, pull enough out for a new identity, and set up a new life in a non extradition country, and continue living my life as normal. If no one comes looking for it, I can always transfer it back. But if they start asking about it, poof."
[deleted]
Well, well, well... it definitely sounds like you've thought about this a lot.
"Go back..."
"Go back to sleep. I can deal with this sh*t later."
OK_whenever_Buddy
Correction: You can afford to deal with this sh*t later.
"Apologize..."
"Apologize for waking him."
[deleted]
Ah, we see what you did there.
Smart-aleck.
"Going back to sleep..."
"Going back to sleep since I don't have to go to work."
[deleted]
Hey, hey... when you're right, you're right.
"Find a few..."
"Find a few really good lawyers and financial advisors to keep me on the straight and narrow."
jasperfilofax
Definitely the wisest option. Some people would make so many mistakes.
"I’d hire lawyers and financial advisers to keep an eye on my lawyers and financial advisers and hire a company to audit the lawyers and financial advisers who were hired to keep an eye on my original lawyers and financial advisers and then hire another company to audit the auditors who are auditing the lawyers and financial advisers who were hired to keep an eye on the lawyers and financial advisers I originally hired to manage my money. Then, maybe at that point I could enjoy being a billionaire."
Duality-is-my-prison
It's lawyers and financial advisers all the way down!
"Fill..."
"Fill my gas tank all the way up."
Parhel
Wow, look at Mr. Moneybags here! What's next? Not carrying around a credit card balance?
"Wouldn't it be cool..."
"Wouldn't it be cool to dump like a million dollars in an account and set ALL your bills to auto pay and just forget about them for years?"
theangryintern
And after that you’d still have $999 million to spend.
"Do what I usually do..."
"Do what I usually do but with a smile on my face."
i-like-eating-tacos
This is a good answer. Because if you suddenly got a billion bucks on your bank account (or worse, in cash), you will live in danger if you start talking about it or acting rich.
But smiling and doing what you usually do is the way to go, until your money is locked up in real estate and other investments.
The sky's the limit, people. Though at this rate you might have a better chance of getting a billion dollars if you eat the rich.
They've given us enough of a reason.
Have some thoughts of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
Suppose you had billions of dollars and the ability to purchase or do anything you want. Now imagine what habits of yours might not change one bit even if you did have all that money.
If I had all that money, you still wouldn't catch me frequenting some of the fanciest restaurants in town because I am well aware–having some insider information, as one does–about the way these places treat their workers.
That's just one small example – having all that money doesn't mean I'd suddenly become unethical (and hopefully the same can be said about you).
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor KCIJunkDiver asked the online community,
"If you were handed 10 billion dollars right now, what would you still never buy?"
"Those rocks..."
"Those jade rock eggs that Gwyneth Paltrow shoves up her lady business."
JedJofis
And don't forget that they're porous and could potentially lead to toxic shock syndrome!
"A PS5..."
"A PS5 from a scalper."
mangiv
I wouldn't buy anything from a scalper – ever. They're gross people.
And if you're a billionaire, you wouldn't ever have to.
"Of all the things..."
"Sex.
Of all the things I’m happy to be fake in this world, affection is something that I don’t want money involved in.
That's totally fair. For many people, the presence of money immediately complicates things.
"I'd still sneak..."
"Movie theatre candy. I’d still sneak in my own."
Gosnellus
Cinemas make their money off concessions, which explains why they're overpriced.
"One time..."
"A boat because I am TERRIFIED of what lies underwater. One time I was in Florida and we took a boat out to deep ocean and we were going snorkeling and when I jumped in and looked down all I saw was a deep blue void and it was TERRIFYING!"
ItchyPage
Lots of things lurk in the deep! The ocean is a source of fear for many!
"At some point..."
"A cable subscription. At some point some company will bundle all the streaming services together and put in ads as a lower cost option and we'll all suddenly be back on cable without realising it."
WindYourNeckIn
Watch – you joke now but we'll get there eventually.
"I've never understood..."
"Those massive mansions. I've never understood why you need 100 rooms and bathrooms."
corrupted-professor
To be fair, those extra rooms are certainly for guests and staff.
Unless you're one of the people in The Queen of Versailles. Now there's a rich family with too much money to burn.
"You could probably..."
"Nestle products. You could probably lobby governments to ban Nestle with that kind of money."
antidense
You probably could and honestly, it'd probably be worth it.
"The price is insanely inflated..."
"Diamonds. The price is insanely inflated and labgrown diamonds are just as good if not better. Also a lot of diamonds are mined by slaves and the profits are used to fund civil wars in Africa."
Dumbelgaff
This is correct. So much of the destabilization in the Congo and surrounding areas is a result of the diamond mining trade.
"Luxury brands..."
"Luxury brands known for treating customers badly as a way of signifying luxury. I’m looking at you, Louis Vuitton."
IndividualBlood8598
I would never go somewhere that treated me that way, money or not.
And if I had the money for an assistant, they could probably fetch a Louis Vuitton item for me.
"Just seems... overkill."
"A private jet. Just seems…overkill. First class exists for a reason, right?"
Burahn
Well, if you have your own jet, you're essentially paying money to save time, so there's that. Many who have that much money probably easily could just fly first class but they won't.
"I have no use for one..."
"A f**king yacht. I have no use for one and I'm pretty sure they're part of some money laundering scheme anyhow."
HotCocoaBomb
Probably. Do yachts run on fuel as much as they run on cocaine? Tune in for more at 11.
After thinking of all the things we wouldn't buy, it's definitely worth thinking about the things we would do if we had that much capital.
For instance: Ensuring a more equitable society, ending hunger, poverty, and homelessness.
These things are within our reach, and that these problems have not been solved is not because we lack the resources.
Have some thoughts of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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People Imagine The Craziest 'Treat Your Self' Purchase They'd Make If They Woke Up As A Billionaire
Admit it, we all at one time or another, over the course of life dream about a big payday. No, money isn't everything but bundles and bundles of it can make a lot of situations calmer and more tolerable. When one has an endless well of coin, life seems like an abundance of treasure and possibilities. Yes, life is already filled of treasure but, just imagine how much treasure would be possible with a bank account that has more zeroes than you have ideas.
Redditor Reddit wanted to know how everyone would splurge like crazy people with a limitless bank account by asking.... If you woke up a billionaire tomorrow, what's the most pointless thing you'd buy?Alakazam
GiphyA second gameboy advance so I could trade pokemon with myself. Creepy_Carpenter
Someone's getting an Alakazam! nokittythatsmypie
RIDICULOUS...
One of those Roomba lawn mowers. If it's anything like the vacuum then I'm still putting in time watching it making sure it doesn't get stuck somewhere or need cleaning. Snacksmcgee07
Give the landscaping company something likes "mad libs" or "scenes from a hat" where they are randomly giving a bunch of elements and have to make it work as seamlessly as possible.
You'd get some ridiculous stuff, but there'd probably be some awesome gems as well. Considered_Dissent
BUY IT ALL...
I thought about buying the most ridiculous PC setup ever, but then realized I wasn't thinking big enough. As a billionaire I could instead buy a company to engineer PCs that would be obsolete in less than a year on my behalf. KillerRabbitX
I think I've seen a video before of someone playing on like a 20K desktop setup. They were in creative and purposely spawning stuff and doing things that would kill any server and handling it with ease. somedude456
Armored Dream.
A genuine medieval suit of armor for my guy to put on display. PeopleAreIrksome
You can get a full set of functional armor for a few thousand. Check out the Armored Combat League.
This is my friend's youtube page with some videos of fights for those interested. The_R4ke
Super....
GiphyI'd commission someone to build me a superhero outfit just so that when I have kids and a family, I can have them 'stumble' onto it and pretend that I was a vigilante in my early years. MR-DEDPUL
Tonight's picture is.....
A 1950s style movie theater with balconies and ushers in pillbox hats and shiny brass buttons. It'd be enormous, to fit as many as possible in comfort, with a massive screen and top-of-the-line modern sound system. Tickets at the box office only, cheap prices for all but luxury balconies. High paid staff. Classic concessions, at low prices.
Movies shown would be chosen by me, daily. All my favorites. I'd record an introduction for each movie like Walt Disney, while sitting in a leather back chair in front of a fireplace, wearing a velvet smoking jacket and reading a book. With a corny "Oh, hello there. I didn't hear you come in. Tonight's picture is special to me because," etc.
We'd do theme days. Like Star Wars, in order of episode, on May 4th every year. Or Friday the 13th marathons on Friday the 13th.
Movie genres would be a big range (PG13 and R after 8), but as they would be my picks, there wouldn't be much drama, romance, or Oscar bait. Horror, sci-fi, action, adventure, and comedy though? Oh yeah.
It would operate at a perpetual loss, but I'm a damn billionaire, what do I care? Talmonis
Hear me out.
A giant boulder.
Hear me out. Ever hear of Levitated Mass in Los Angeles? They brought in a 340 ton boulder as a permanent public art installation at LACMA. The project was estimated at $10 million. I'd like a similar boulder, brought in from a similar distance for my backyard.
I want people to wonder, "Why?" And "How?" Whenever they visit my home and see a large boulder sitting in my yard, serving no purpose but to make people wonder.
They'd have to dismantle pieces of my home, or demolish my neighbor's home to get such a boulder into my backyard.
Perhaps I'd use it as a cornerstone of my house, which would otherwise be made of modern materials, visible from the inside as well as out.
It's the most baller thing I could possibly do. Cho_Zen
A billion +....
I'd finally buy the $800 UCS Millennium Falcon. Then buy enough bricks to build the entire Death Star to scale with it. jonathanquirk
At first I was "oh cool." Then I took a sec to think about how big the to scale death star would be.
You may need more than a billion dollars. cheetosnfritos
Fresh Feet....
New pair of socks everyday. One of the best feelings in the world. 3RunHoHo
You may get sick due the potentially thousands of chemicals used in the textile manufacturing and coloring process, the pesticides the cotton is sprayed with in the field, the fungicides to keep fungus from growing on them in transport, etc.
There is a reason it is recommended to wash underwear before wearing it. marcelowit
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
A Millionaire Dressed As A Homeless Man Surprises Restaurant After Being Mistreated
Coby Persin has over three million followers on YouTube, where he frequently posts pranks and social experiments.
For one of his most recent pranks, Coby, a millionaire, went undercover dressed as a homeless man to see how a restaurant would treat him based on his appearance.
He wasn't expecting any sort of VIP treatment, but was still shocked by the level of disrespect he encountered.
Watch his encounter here.
In the video, a restaurant employee turns Coby away, telling him to "go eat at McDonald's," and that:
"We're not going to be able to do it, sir. This place is a little too expensive for you."
Persin insists he has "lots of money," but the employee continues throwing Coby off the property.
Of course, that's when Coby calls his Rolls Royce.
@StuartHood Well!— avril goodenough (@avril goodenough) 1519324365.0
Coby's driver brings out a suitcase full of money just to show the employee the vlogger was telling the truth.
Persin then says:
"I told you I had money. What's crazy is the way you judged people just by their appearance."
People online took an important lesson from Persin's video.
@thisisinsider Wow, why would someone assume tbe way a person is dressed, treat them so disrespectful and unkind.… https://t.co/s23TpeCv4s— Gigi (@Gigi) 1523805325.0
@techinsider @coby_persin Hi coby. That wad absolutely terrible that waiter even saying that to you. I hate places… https://t.co/8ruq8cR9mk— John Mccomiskie (@John Mccomiskie) 1531663709.0
Well done Coby Persin @coby_persin Watch how wait staff treats this YouTuber dressed as a homeless man… https://t.co/qm8Ix0DsOD— Shaving Mostho (@Shaving Mostho) 1519222625.0
Commenters on YouTube chimed in as well.
This isn't Persin's first outing as the Homeless Millionaire...
Here is another of his videos.
And another.
The next time you are about to judge someone based on their appearance, take a second and rethink your decision.
Everyone deserves a little human kindness and compassion.
H/T - Business Insider, YouTube