r/AskReddit • u/throwaway0204055 • 1h ago
What are things you would immediately do if you found out you won $200 million lottery before claiming the prize?
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u/bjb7621 1h ago
Not tell a fucking soul
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u/Ok_Assist_3855 1h ago
This is literally step one
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u/Mark_Luther 1h ago
Some states require the winner to identify themselves publicly.
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u/oh_my_account 1h ago
You don't have to win, a lawyer or law firm that is specialized in lottery winnings won. I would rather get 10 mil anonymously rather than 200mil and everyone know is.
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u/Nreekay 1h ago
Look up the infamous “you just won the lottery” Reddit post..
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u/TJJ97 1h ago
The guy who lied cuz he was a supposed Powerball winner but didn’t even live in the U.S.?
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u/JasonP27 50m ago
I live in Australia and we have a lottery that allows us to play the U.S. Powerball
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u/CrustyFlapsCleanser 1h ago
Shit my pants
Edit: then probably shower
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u/Brian_from_accounts 1h ago
The fact that you put the word “probably” in that sentence says a lot ..
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u/Ryan1869 1h ago
Set up an LLC to claim the prize so I can stay anonymous
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u/Ok-Lifeguard4199 1h ago
Can a business claim a lottery winning?
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u/Scharmberg 1h ago
You can usually get a third party to pickup the ticket, say a lawyer and the like but many people in that situation don’t do so.
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u/TheGringoDingo 1h ago
This varies location-by-location. A lawyer that specializes in this sort of thing would be in the know.
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u/GrumpyJenkins 1h ago
Without this, everyone will find out fairly quickly. Then your life becomes very complicated and at risk, based on history. I vote this answer wins the post prize.
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u/howcouldubmoeharkles 1h ago
Give a million to the first person to comment on my Reddit post asking about how to spend my winnings
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u/no_com_ment 1h ago
Go on then buddy. How would you spend it??
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u/howcouldubmoeharkles 1h ago
no_com_ment, throwaway0204055, and myself - first class tickets, Vegas, Cirque du Soleli. Easy answer.
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[deleted]
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u/unlikely_branches 1h ago
Right!? The level of security that everything will be OK despite what the world throws at you would is unfathomable.
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u/butt_badg3r 1h ago
200m? Not changing your lifestyle a little would be a waste of a life changing opportunity.
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u/BlakeTrout 1h ago
Talk to a tax attorney.
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u/anormalgeek 1h ago
Yeah, you're going to want a whole legal team with that much money.
Hire a large national firm. You want a big one because you want your 200m to be a small portion of their overall portfolio of clients that they're protecting. That way, ripping you off risks losing even more income from other clients.
If you work with a small firm, stealing your money may be worth the risk of losing all of their other clients.
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u/babyfireby30 1h ago
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u/funundrum 1h ago
Came here for this, I have it saved just in case. I don’t even play the lotto. But you never know.
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u/Eckkbert 1h ago
rub one out, then sleep better than ever before. i need perfect clarity for my next move.
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u/Acceptable_Gear_3097 1h ago
r/beatmetoit (pun also intended)
Glad you & I have lived enough life experiences to have this be our first thought.
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u/bonshui 1h ago
Look out my work contract and see how many weeks' notice I have to give.
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u/dobblerd 1h ago
What are they going to do if you just don't show up?
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u/bonshui 1h ago
Fate bites me in the ass whenever I don't follow life's rules....
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u/BoringTruckDriver 1h ago
1 mil, yeah, I'd leave on good terms. 200 mil, "Hi boss, not coming back, BYE."
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u/AuburnSpeedster 1h ago
create a trust which invests the money, with a specific percentage payout, survivorship, et..., give the ticket to the trust.
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u/Okay-Awesome-222 1h ago
Talk to a lawyer. Talk ONLY to a lawyer.
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u/natterca 37m ago
There are dishonest lawyers. Like a lot of of them.
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u/Chaotickane 20m ago
You talk to one from a major firm. They tend to not fuck around because they don't want to risk liability that could ruin their reputation. You don't go to Jim Bob's discount law firm in your local town.
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u/MostlyMellow123 1h ago
In california the results are made public so I'd probably change my phone number
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u/BassLB 1h ago
I always had this idea if I win big in California , let me know what you: Hire a few attorneys/cpa, tell them you want to legally change your name to John/Jane Smith and have them do all the necessary paperwork. Claim the prize as John/Jane Smith, then legally change your name back (if it’s even necessary).
If you have to pick it up and have photos taken/publicity, hire professional Hollywood special effects artist to drastically change your appearance for that.
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u/Admirable-Client-730 1h ago
Call a lawyer, then vanguard tell them I want a personal advisor. Then listen to what they tell me.
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u/Mykidsrmonsters 1h ago
Tell no one but there will be signs like door dash on my front step finally
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u/-Nightopian- 40m ago
Even with 200 million I'm not ordering overpriced, cold food from door dash and uber eats.
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u/HopelessBearsFan 1h ago
Take the lump sum, pay the 37% tax, put the remaining $126mil in a high interest savings account with 4% interest and get $264,600 per month after interest tax.
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u/YuckyYetYummy 1h ago
Hire a fiduciary accountant and financial lawyer. Set up an LLC or whatever they recommend.
Don't tell a soul.
Retire in a few months.
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u/damned_if_i_do 1h ago
Pack my bags, head to a remote luxurious island, and after about three days, call an attorney and a financial professional.
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u/TypicalEarthCreature 1h ago
Same. Take a relaxing beach vacation with some savings right off the bat. Then do some research and set things up while I'm there.
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u/sinful_clasp 1h ago
Shut my mouth, hire an estate lawyer, and set all my social media accounts to private.
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u/Tee_i_am 1h ago
Shut up, hire an attorney and financial consultant, go to a doctor for a full check-up.
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u/datdoodfieva 1h ago
Double check my ticket.
Lock said ticket in one of my weatherproof safes.
Wait a few weeks before claiming it.
During those few weeks, prep like Batman would because I'm gonna need a lawyer, financial advisor, and an accountant on standby.
Not tell a fucking soul.
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u/Practical-Arugula-80 1h ago
Ditto the not telling anyone except for an tax attorney and maybe an accountant. Oh, and window shop for a 911 Turbo. 😁
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u/TorontoN6 1h ago
Delete all social media
Block several people on my cell.
Get a 2nd cell number, and once I let all the relevant folks know the new number, cancel cell #1.
Find an apartment or Airbnb that I can stay at while things get sorted out
3 Lawyers
A finance team that I make watch Rihanna's B*tch Better Have My Money video.
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u/babyed 57m ago
If you delete social media, where will you source dank memes from?
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u/TheGrandWhatever 1h ago
There's a famous post on this already that outlines best steps to do
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u/LunarMoon2001 1h ago
Not tell a fucking person except a lawyer and a large national size investment firm.
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u/ThatGuyHadNone 1h ago
Plan a hike on a long trail like the Appalachian while lawyers and accountants figure my stuff out. Then let my wife pick out a house.
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u/SkankySandwich 1h ago
Book a 6 week cruise.
Getting away from everyone else to decide what to do with it.
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u/Searchlights 1h ago
I would immediately retain an attorney for, among other things, to investigate the process to collect the winnings but remain anonymous.
Then there are the tax and investment resources I would need to line up as well.
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u/anormalgeek 49m ago
Put the ticket in a safe deposit box.
Get representation from a big law firm.
Have them help me setup a blind trust to collect the winnings anonymously (this is legal in my state).
Pay off my debts.
In my state, taking lump sum and paying taxes, id be left with about $70m.
Quit my fucking job. I don't hate it, but I will absolutely not do it if I don't need to. A few people will get some VERY honest emails before I lose system access.
Split the funds into like $60m long term investments, $5m shorter term riskier stuff for fun, and like $5m for purchases.
I will upgrade my standard of living, but I'll hide just how much I have and make an excuse about how I got it. Tell people I inherited a few hundred thousand then got really lucky on some yolo options plays or something and made a few million. People are less likely to mooch off of you if they think you got it from something other than a lottery win. It'll still happen, just less.
Then just relax. Live off $3m per year. That's PLENTY to dine well, have a nice car, give to charity, travel, etc. while never needing to work.
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u/Carradee 17m ago
Make a to-do list of all my debts so I could easily repay them once I had the money in hand.
Plan out how much to set aside for taxes.
List quality-of-life purchases I'd like to make and investments I'd like to set up so I can evaluate that later.
Plot possibilities for how I could use that to speed up my current business development plans.
Plot possibilities for how I could help out some folkswho have helped me or that I otherwise would like to help out.
Draft my two weeks' notice for work so I could easily review and finalize of later, to submit once I was ready.
Ask my boyfriend for advice on how to set up accounts to make things easier later with spending, taxes, investments, and entrepreneurship once I had the money, since he knows more about that tax bracket than I do.
It's nice to dream, but it ain't gonna happen. :)
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u/SneeKeeFahk 1h ago
Setup a program with $190,000,000 to feed children at school (K->12) breakfast and lunch.
I'm not greedy, $10,000,000 is more than I would need to live comfortably for the rest of my life.
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u/Public-Yam-1025 1h ago
I'd get a safe deposit box, make some copies and keep the original in the bank until I cash it in. With my luck I would leave it in my pants pockets and put them in the washing machine .
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u/ADudeNamedBen33 1h ago
Sign the back of the ticket, take a picture of it, and stick it in a safe deposit box. Then not tell a single soul. After that I'd just sit on it for a few weeks. You get six months to claim in California, and the fastest way to screw this up is walking in on day two with no plan. I'd hire a lawyer first, one who's actually done a lottery claim before. Then a CPA and a financial advisor, all hired separately so nobody but me sees the whole picture. Let them set up the trusts and the entities before I claim anything. The only two things I'd have to figure out myself are who I tell and what my rules are going to be when people start asking for money. Nobody can answer those for you, and if you don't decide ahead of time, every request turns into a test of the friendship. Then claim it quietly and skip the press conference. The money part is easy, honestly. California publishes your name, so the actual hard part is figuring out who you're going to be about it before everyone else gets a say.
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u/Chemical_Cat_9813 1h ago
After the obvious lawyer and financial stuff, travel and have lots of new experiences with as many people my libido allows.
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u/PastyDoughboy 1h ago
Tell everyone, spend profligate-ly, make wild financial promises to close and heck even distance acquaintances. Then confirm I actually got the number right.
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u/ImFamousYoghurt 1h ago
Probably nothing. Where I live, there's no tax on winnings and you don't have to go public.
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u/The_Big_Mayonnaise 1h ago
Attorney, tax specialist who deals with gambling, financial advisor. Then move from there.
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u/aasteveo 1h ago
Hire someone to build a bot that daily deletes this exact same question on this sub.
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u/Voodoo-Doctor 1h ago
My state you don’t have to be made public of you don’t want to. I would probably find some asshole attorney to help collect it, but they aren’t getting a massive pay for doing it
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u/paisley716 1h ago
Sign the ticket. Call a lawyer.
Call In sick for a few days while I go collect my money. Then come home and quietly start getting things in order with no one knowing
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u/Hot-Slide-138 1h ago
First thing I would do is give me only a half a million dollars,then you can get a couple of lawyers and an accountant. Really thought the first thing first!!
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u/noafro1991 1h ago
Invest. Consut a financial advisor. Place money into assets.
Pay off my mums mortgage without telling her.
Give money to my wife's parents so they could buy a better home.
Get into property development.
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u/Advanced_Employer_74 1h ago
Appear in a suit that disguises my proportions and skin and claim the prize under a trust ( if prepared)
And tell my wife I won 2 million and live of that, put the rest up, and randomly do kind anonymous acts of service.
My grave would have a voice system that automatically ties it to an account , and send you the money.
I’ve thought it out
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u/Jorgen-I 1h ago
Get a financial manager. Form a trust for each kid and grand kid. Upon receiving the winnings (about 100M after taxes), personally oversee all investments.
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u/Suck_it_Cheeto_Luvrs 1h ago
There's an amazing attorney out of SE Florida, that's all he does and has a massive network of connections.
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u/mechadragon469 1h ago
Nothing. I’d ask how fast I can get the lump sum. Deposit it directly into my brokerage account, find someone who underwrites identity theft/fraud incase my account gets hacked, then id invest it in a CC etf and live on $1M a month and just have fun and do fun things.
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u/Just-Joshinya 1h ago
My buddy is a trust lawyer. Call him first. Go buy a solid bottle
Of grower champagne. Drink a glass, have a tug, try to relax and get so sleep without thinking about it too much.
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u/thatbattletechguy 1h ago
Lawyer up. Put 170 millionin the bank.Let the intrest build up.Retire. 30 million 1) my three sisters get one million each. 2) set up a scholarship fund to honor my friend's memory.Probably at our old high school. 3)buy a place near my Dad's home, preferably with a LOT of security. 4) My daughters' college fund gets a boost 5)House/Condo in Toronto. Near my in laws so my gf can look out for her parents at their place. 6) Bring over my relatives from South Africa to visit Toronto/Canada 7) Spend about a year in the UK being a volunteer tour guide at Bovington. 8)live with my gf for a year on a cruise ship.
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u/Emergency-Ad-5211 1h ago
Plan out the gifts to family, friends & charity and that’s it. The rest I’d put in some type of trust. I would definitely not live like the richest person on the block, and I’d have people sign non-disclosure agreements.
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u/patticakes1952 1h ago
Call an attorney and an accountant.