Posted: 3/22/2007 11:30:32 AM EDT
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The thread about John Edward's & Al Gore's homes got me to pose this question. If you had their mad jack, would you have huge homes & drive showy cars & planes? Or would you be the millionaire next door type? Personally I grew up with parents & grandparents who had money but drove ten year old cars and had patches on their jeans. I think that rubbed off me. I would buy some full auto guns but I don't think I need the other stuff. A giant house is just expensive to maintain and super expensive cars just mean higher maintenance & insurance costs. |
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Personally, I'd have a "nicer" house, but the $$ would be mainly spent on the land, and the huge walk in gun vault in the basment. I'd have newer cars, but I wouldn't have lambo's and ferrari's or anything. Probably a nice Tacoma or Xterra for myself. ETA: I forgot to add that I would have piles and piles of cash, silver, and gold that I could roll around in. |
+1 I am extremely materialistic. If I was Bill Gates rich, I would probably live on a completely rehabbed "luxury" aircraft carrier, and I would have fresh Danish pastries every morning, flown in by Concorde. (I know the Concorde doesn't fly any longer, but if I was that rich, I'd by the remaining one in good condition from the museum that owns it, and use it as a private jet.) |
The big difference is that I wouldn't work anymore.
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If you had real money... I mean like "FUCK YOU!" money, HELL YEAH I'd go nuts. Travel, buy a couple houses, attend big events, bang 3 or 4 models.... at one time! I think there's some lyin or deluded people out today  Al dont have like a couple million here folks. The boy's got REAL money. I know many people on this board are well off, but we're talkin the kind of money you can do ANYTHING with. I would honestly make some hefty donations to a few political orgs and a couple charities first thing. Then you can be a crazy jackass guilt free 
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I've told my wife that if we ever win a bigger lottery, it's on!! www.castlemagic.com/ |
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Since I'm one of those paranoid people that thinks the S is going to HTF in the next 10 years, I'd probably move and change vehicles, but only because I'd want a more remote, defensible location with a better means of food and water storage and a couple of armored half tracks. Oh, and concrete pillboxes with remote operated .50 cal machine guns and armored night vision cameras. Can't forget the pillboxes! And no, I'm not kidding. But bling? I'm not into bling in any way. |
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I'd get a decent house for me, and a decent house for my mother, and a third house for my sister. Quit my job, hire an accountant to manage my money, go to college, and live off the interest my wealth is generating. I'd have at least one gun room in my basement, and a metric shitton or two of ammo. Indoor pistol range in the basement. A new car for going back and forth from the range would be a must, obviously. To the outside world I'd look middle class. Anyone invited into my home would know otherwise. |
Would a M1 Abrams with 24Kt Gold Accents in the front yard be considered conspicous consumption?  Imagine keeping up with the Jones if there was an ARFKOM neighborhood? @#*@^&$^@, DK Prof next door just put quad .50's on his roof. Looks like I will have to order a 40mm Bofors after all. And Taxman's home has sunk six inches because of his internal ammo fort. |
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I certainly don't "need" a huge house. And I doubt I'll ever have one, because of the trouble and expense to maintain. But if i had tens of millions, who cares how much the heating/cooling bill is? Who cares how hard it is to clean and maintain? I'll pay people to do that. Same with ultra-slick cars... I'm not going to run out and buy a BMW 7-series, a big mercedes convertible, or a Maserati coupe, because that's an awful lot of $$$ to spend on a car that needs expensive maintenance and insurance. But, again, were I to win the lottery or something, who cares how much it is? So, yeah, I'd probably acquire a "stable"... a ferrari, a nice Mercedes convertible, a 4X4, maybe some classics... oh, and a huge house with a huge garage to keep 'em in 
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Just wait until this winter, when I'm going to have races between my sleighs pulled by polar bears and my sleighs pulled by Siberian tigers! Even Santa is going to jealous!!
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My thoughts as well. 500 acres in Montana, pop up targets all over the place, etc. |
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People do think that I am middle class as long as the garage door is down and the Ferrari invisible. I live in a homw 1/3 of what I could own--why, because it is big enough, and nice enough. I used to drive a 10 YO SUV before last year when I got a newer one--I expect this one to last at least 10 yrs. By NOT conspiculous consuming, one positiones themselves for the transition from the middle class to the upper class (or lower to middle). |
I would have a lot of cars because I love cars - I would buy them for my own enjoyment and not give a damn about what others thought of them. I would have a nice house, nothing absurd. Something spacious and private with a couple of luxuries like an outdoor range and a big swimming pool. Probably somewhere on the coast. |
I think you and I were separated at birth... |
I think that I might actually be able to tolerate an HOA in the ARFCOM neighborhood. After all, pink is NOT an acceptable house color but MARPAT is
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Castle Howard, used for the filming of Brideshead Revisited. |