Mega Millions - 1 BILLION DOLLARS

1 in 302.5 million chance to hit it big! 4th largest jackpot in the US. Will be $1B+ if it doesn't hit tonight.

You buy tickets? What would you do with the money?
I bought a couple plays. If I won, the first thing I'd do is put together a team of financial advisers, accountants, tax attorneys, etc. I'm not sure what the rules are in Wisconsin, but I would want to set up a trust to accept the prize for me, if possible, to try and keep my identity private.

Regardless of whether there's any way I can keep my name out of it, I would take care of my debts, as well as those of my parents and sister. Then I'd get a new car (more likely just a newer used car), and I'd buy a ****load of new cameras and lenses. Once that was done, I'd buy a house and move back to Iowa City and shoot for the athletic department again (unless they were willing to hire me as a staff member, I'd probably charge them like $10k/yr to cover potential repairs for my gear).

None of that would even put a dent into my winnings. With what's left, I'd donate a lot of it to various fields of medical research, with an emphasis on dementia/Alzheimer's (I had a couple grandparents go through that). The rest, I'd put some in savings and invest a lot of it. Ideally, I'd want to take the dividends and donate 50% of it to whatever (political campaigns/causes, more medical research, homeless shelters, etc.) and keep $250k each year as income, and reinvest whatever's left over.

You might say I haven't really considered this ridiculously unlikely scenario.
 
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Pay all immediate family bills, set up endowments/trusts for grandchildren, then disappear to secret location to be left alone. Finally, set up a NIL.
 
I would send exactly one dollar to people I don't care for. Then I would retire.
 
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Husband bought tickets.

I have a long list. Most relevant to this site: second house in Ames, SEZ tickets or a JTS suite, Hilton tickets, and I would be attending the US Open tennis tournament!

Maybe fund my own NIL. Sell cookies or something and pay all the athletes to pitch them.

And a lot of home and hometown improvement, and setting my boys up to not worry about money.

Wonder what it would cost to build a second house inside JTS with a room overlooking the stadium? Kinda like some of those coaches offices you see. Gotta imagine $50M would cover that, right?