If I Were A Rich Man - My American Life

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/19/rich-guys

Sorry Tevey, but your version of what a rich man would do, and what I'd do are two different worlds.

According to the show, rich men, or at least some rich men, do crazy things with their money. Things that financially don't make sense, or even after they are dead really don't make sense.

Assuming that all of the typical desires are out of the way, student loans paid off, new cars, new house, family is set for any future needs, my kids are comfortable enough that they have college paid for, or at least a good chunk put in to help them at college, my desires for what I would want to do with my untold wealth is a little weird.

1- Invest.

I know, I know, not exactly the most creative, luxury driven answer, but I really want to have a ridiculous amount of money in the stock exchange, or in other investments. I don't care what you say, but as long as you are safe and that you don't make too many stupid investments, you're going to be getting better money out of that than letting is sit in a bank. When in doubt, I'm not the person that will be doing the actual investing, I can get people to do that for me.

2- The money waster that I'd put on my list that isn't making more money, is having a place to live in Sweden.

Spending summers in Sweden in a little stuga or something like that, would be amazing. Even without the stuga out in the middle of nowhere, I'd love to spend summers in Stockholm, or any other city. Just to make it so that my family can see and experience other things besides USA, USA, with more USA.

3- I want to own a theater. For those that know Vegas, I would KILL to own a place like the Huntridge, or something along those lines.

A place where groups from out of town can perform, but also a place where locals can put on shows, plays, and anything else that requires a good ol' fashion stage and theater. I'm not talking a cineplex, I don't want it to be movies that play on my stage, I want  to give a place for performances to be held. I'd need money for this because chances are that it's not going to make enough money to be super lucrative. I want to be able to give the community (wherever I might live) the opportunity to have a place to do art. Yearly battle of the bands, yearly acting competitions, yearly writing scripts for people to play competitions, and anything else that will help those people around the community to have a shot to be on stage, get something they produced on stage, and it not be in a library or school auditorium.

Other than that, I really don't have any big ideas as to what I would spend my money on. I don't want a super big mansion, because I don't want to have to hire maids (if you can't keep track of your own mess, you better be wrinkly, grey, and close to getting sent to a home). I don't need a super fancy luxury car, because as long as it goes forward and I don't run in constant fear of it breaking down on me (I'm looking at you car I currently drive, you and I both know I have to cross my fingers every time I try to start you!). A new outfit might be nice, but there's not a chance in the world that I'd spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (because that's what we're talking about when we're talking about this much money) on clothes. Something that fits me and is tailored for my funky proportions instead of me constantly either having super baggy shirts that fit my arms, or shirts that fit my torso that are 3/4 sleeves on me, would be nice, but that doesn't cost that much. Food would be great, but I'm talking the upgrade from mac and cheese to something not directly out of a box made in a microwave. Much like the clothes, not going to cost me millions to do that. Don't want a boat (of any sort, seriously, I've never enjoyed or found fun in boating). Don't want a cabin (ewww, cold). Don't need a private jet (normal commercial jets work just fine, and when feeling fancy first class, as far as I'm concerned, is fancy enough for anything that I might ever need). Even at my new home there's not too many amenities that even if I was a billionaire I would want. I don't want a huge home entertainment system, don't want a theater room, don't want an in home gym, but I DO WANT a pool, infinity pool, or something more than a little hole in the back yard to splash around in.