So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/
The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth. https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/
Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4
Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/
Step 5. Give foundation jobs to friends/family you want to reward.
6. Get your kids/grandkids on your board eventually.

Voila! You have created an institution that will provide your family with comfortable salaries and massive social privilege -- indefinitely! 6/
A $1.6B-asset foundation would instantly be among the country's top 75 foundations. Foundations are (generally) required to give away at least 5% each year -- this is an $80 million annual payout. Little secret: this payout can include your administrative expenses. 7/
Now to salaries. Per 990 filings, it is very reasonable to pay the CEO of a $1.6B foundation as much as $1 million. You can live well on a million bucks for life, plus the social prestige of running a large and generous charity. 8/
Top executives can pull down $700-800k. Your hangers-on can easily justify $200-300K salaries as program directors.

Don't go crazy -- you don't want to attract IRS/AG attention. Benchmark to peers but honestly you can pay yourself and your staff a lot. 9/
This overhead will still be a tiny portion of an $80M annual payout. Think of how many people will be trying to get a piece of that. You will be inundated with invitations to parties, to speak at events, to get honorary degrees. Say no or yes as you like. 10/
As a friend says who now works for a family foundation, "I'll never tell an unfunny joke again." When you work for a big foundation -- and especially, run a big foundation -- you can call anyone you like and get a meeting with anyone you want. 11/
Colleges will court your kids, all in hopes of getting access to grants. They can work outside the foundation if they want, but your kids will always have the fallback of working for the foundation. It will always be there to support the family and its privilege. 12/
I always chuckle at the thought that Warren Buffett didn't spoil his kids. (https://t.co/PKJFCq4h3s) He gave each of them a billion-dollar foundation! They are set for life! (Howard Buffett is a genuinely interesting philanthropist, I'll add. 13/
Please don't read this to suggest that I am opposed to private foundations. I think they're a great vehicle and an important part of the fabric of American civil society. I just think we should be aware of the dynamic of family privilege they create. 14/
So if you win the big jackpot, take it from me. Spend it all in one place: on creating a private foundation. You'll be a public hero, minimize your tax liability, and set yourself and your family up for life. Not a bad deal. 15/15
So... this blew up.

A few parenthetical thoughts:

1. I think the vast majority of family foundations out there are doing great work, finding and funding and sustaining the charitable enterprises that are a major part of our national and local economies. Sincere applause!
2. For some families, philanthropic giving is a fun thing they do together that has benefits for their communities. This should be encouraged! We should simply recognize the dynamics around wealth, philanthropy, and social status.
3. I was a bit tongue-in-cheek about creating foundation jobs for family. These jobs can pay comfortably but obviously not obscenely, as that would constitute self-dealing.
4. The whole thread was just a thought experiment in how to spend lottery winnings in a way that would ensure lives of comfort for the winner and his/her loved ones, maximize the winner's social standing, minimize downside risks of winning, and possibly benefit the community.
5. Finally, no one should buy lotto tickets! The end. Thanks for reading!

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@Suman68082748 @thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 Lets stop the criticism guys. The lad is good. Losses happen. Losses to unranked players happen too. As do wins vs top 10ers. Let's accept both. Remember Sumit and the likes of him are the best we have. See the bigger picture please.

@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 When the Europeans or South Americans were getting quality practice and tourneys week in week out at reasonable costs, our kids were playing on dung courts or learning outdated serve and volley on grass. Appreciate the fact that the last 10 years have been a hell lot better than

@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 the 10 before that. Real change can't come in a day or even in 10 years. So let's grit our teeth and bide our time till we have an organic self sustaining system in place.

@siyer30 @SportaSmile @Cric_Writer @RomilShukla @amanthejourno

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Imagine if Christians actually had to live according to their Bibles.


Imagine if Christians actually sacrificed themselves for the good of those they considered their enemies, with no thought of any recompense or reward, but only to honor the essential humanity of all people.

Imagine if Christians sold all their possessions and gave it to the poor.

Imagine if they relentlessly stood up for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner.

Imagine if they worshipped a God whose response to political power was to reject it.

Or cancelled all debt owed them?

Imagine if the primary orientation of Christians was what others needed, not what they deserved.

Imagine Christians with no interest in protecting what they had.

Imagine Christians who made room for other beliefs, and honored the truths they found there.

Imagine Christians who saved their forgiveness and mercy for others, rather than saving it for themselves.

Whose empathy went first to the abused, not the abuser.

Who didn't see tax as theft; who didn't need to control distribution of public good to the deserving.

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