If suddenly in the 1%?

[DeusxMac]

This recent billion dollar lottery got me thinking about the effects of such a windfall on the winners; they would be thrust into that much discussed and derided "1%" of the population overnight.

If you were to suddenly find yourself in the "1%", what excesses might you succumb to that you had scoffed at or resented before?

[$tevie]

I don't think I scoff at excesses. I do deride wealthy people who don't want to pay taxes or practice philanthropy, both of which I would be happy to do. But as far as owning too many homes or acquiring too much stuff, I'm okay with that sort of thing once I've taken care of my family.

[cbelt3]

Quote possibly buy a house in Southampton. Well. buy BACK my late grandparent's property. because I spent a lot of my childhood having fun there. I'd also renew my family's friendship with the Shinnecock tribe, and do what I could for them. Grandpa was an honorary Chieftan after he bullied (and sued) the P&Z people in the 1960's into stopping a developer who wanted to steal the reservation from them. See if the family of my grandfather's best fishing buddy in the tribe was still around and renew that association.

Maybe see if I can renew the family's old membership in the Bathing Corporation.... yeah, they might not let my wife in though. She wasn't in the NY Social Register... I married outside the chosen list. In fact ALL of my family's generation did so. We thought the whole thing was hysterically funny. Like WASP-y horse breeding for humans. The fact that we're Irish Catholic was even funnier.

[deckeda]

Those 1% -ers don't get any respect. So they buy it!

[wave rider]

Might be able to afford a down payment on a house in my county of residence...

Only half way kidding... :X

[Acer]

After a career among non-profits, I daydream about a corollary to this question. If I were suddenly 1%, what if I shared my largess with some perennially cash-stricken non-profit, by providing a juicy endowment that put them in the black indefinitely. How would that screw up their culture?

[Lux Interior]

I would start wearing a cape and ask to be referred to as "He Who Shall Not Be Named," or "El Guapo."

[cbelt3]

Acer wrote:
After a career among non-profits, I daydream about a corollary to this question. If I were suddenly 1%, what if I shared my largess with some perennially cash-stricken non-profit, by providing a juicy endowment that put them in the black indefinitely. How would that screw up their culture?

I would do it only with some careful controls in place, or a sufficiently substantial endowment to put a foundation in place. Or endow a chair or something. My sister is the proud holder (sitter ? ) of an endowed chair at her Zoo where she has worked since getting her MS over 30 years ago.

[Ted King]

Are you talking about the top 1% in wealth or income? Are you talking about top 1% relative to the US or relative to the whole world?

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/per...-world.asp

Relative to worldwide:

According to the Global Rich List, a website that brings awareness to worldwide income disparities, an income of $32,400 a year will allow you to make the cut.
- - - - - -
The threshold is significantly higher if you look at the top percentile by wealth instead of income. To reach that status, you’d have to possess $770,000 in net worth, which includes everything from the equity in your home to the value of your investments.

Relative to the US:

Of course, Americans live in the United States, contending with U.S. prices. Who constitutes the one percent if you just look at the U.S.? Not surprisingly, it takes a massively higher income to crack the top percentile of wage earners: You’d have to make $434,682 in adjusted gross income to make the cut, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.

And to rank amongst the highest one percent of Americans by wealth? That requires net assets of more than $7 million, based on the latest Federal Reserve figures.

[rgG]

El Guapo wrote:
I would start wearing a cape and ask to be referred to as "He Who Shall Not Be Named," or "El Guapo."

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