If You Loaned Money To Someone Who Won Powerball, What Next?
Tonight’s Powerball is up over $1 billion again. Here’s a scenario you’ll never deal with, but it’s fun to think about . . .
A friend asks if they can borrow $10. You hand them a ten . . . they use it to buy Powerball tickets . . . and they hit the JACKPOT. How much do they owe you?
My thoughts on loaning 10 dollars to someone who won Powerball
I don’t know about you, but for a Billion Dollars, I would expect my “friend” to pay me back more than just the 10 bucks I kindly loaned them. Would they have won without my kind generosity? What if they had nobody else to ask for the money to buy their winning ticket? Let’s say that I was the last person he saw that had 10 dollars on them and was willing to loan them the money, wouldn’t they somewhat beholden to me?
Now I’m not saying that I would expect let’s half of his winnings or even a quarter of it, but I think 10% would be a fair amount. Think of it as a “finders fee” or a skimming off the top just like an agent peels off his artists (and for some mega agents, it’s a lot more than 10%)
CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 07: A ticket showing previous Powerball lottery winning numbers sits on the counter at a 7-Eleven store on August 7, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The Powerball jackpot for tonight’s drawing is $425 million, the third-highest total ever. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Someone asked, and people voted. Here are the four options . . .
1. Just the original $10 you loaned them. (wow, these people are really nice!)
2. Half of the winnings. (seems like a lot, how about 10%?)
3. All the winnings (this is not going to happen, good luck with that)
4. Nothing. (these people are saints! they don’t even want their 10 bucks back!)
The top vote-getter was just the original $10. It got 72% of the vote. If they want to give you more, great . . . and maybe they should. But they’re not obligated to.
Half of the winnings is next with 15%, then nothing at 12%. (Keep your $10, jerk!) 2% think they should give you the full $1 billion.
If the roles were reversed, 64% say they’d only feel obligated to pay back the original $10 . . . 27% claim they’d split the winnings . . . and 9% say, “Screw ’em! I know I’m a billionaire, but they’re not getting that 10 bucks back.” (???)
(Reddit)
The Five Things Experts Say You Should Do If You Win Powerball
1. Secure the ticket!
Make sure to secure the winning ticket. Make photocopies of the ticket and keep it safe in a safety deposit box at a bank and keep it quiet.
(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
2. You’re going to need a good accounting firm.
It’s going to be very important that you hire a top tier accounting firm, remember, now you can afford the very best!
(Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
3. You’re going to want to establish a good law firm.
Now that you’re super rich, you’ll want to protect your assets, which means hiring the very best law firm you can find, because you better believe that people will want a piece of your assets.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
4. You’re going to want to set the right type of trust, and you’re going to want the right investment firm as well
You want your Millions to continue to grow and that means hiring the best Investment firm you can find. Again, you can afford the very best now, so hire the best one you can find. They will be more than happy to have your business, trust us.
(Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
5. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Every expert agrees that you have to keep your good fortune a secret from anyone outside your household (and that includes your kids). You need to get everything in order and buttoned up tight before you go public. In Massachusetts you don’t even have to show your face, so you might consider keeping your luck on lock down.
(Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
