Investment — Hanging on to all those millions — can be as tough as winning in the first place
If you won the lottery, as eight Nebraska meatpackers did last month, splitting a $365 million jackpot, what investment would be at the top of your wish list?
Without a plan, "the reality is that 70 percent of all lottery winners will squander away their winnings in a few years," said Peter Toll, president of Family Heritage First in West Linn and past president of Oregon's Financial Planning Association.
To get the inside skinny on innovative investment options, we turned to three local investment advisers and financial planners for what they would do with $15 million, the amount each of the Nebraska winners got after taxes.
Scott Anderson, senior vice president and financial consultant for the Lake Oswego office of D.A. Davidson & Co.: "I'd diversify my windfall across asset classes with midcap, small-cap, large-cap and international stocks. Because of my age (47), I'd have an all-stock portfolio, and I'd hire a good trust attorney to help me create an estate plan.
"I had a client that won the lottery in California, $14 million. Within seven years, he was broke and had creditors calling.... After a few million-dollar business mistakes, and living high on the hog, he had nothing to show for it.
"So I'd skip the new house and the new cars, and protect the base of that principal to provide me with an income for the rest of my life. If I didn't spend a dime of it for 10 years and instead invested the $15 million in the S&P 500, then — if the S&P kept pace with the past 10 years, which included one of the worst bear markets in history — it would still grow to nearly $28 million by 2016....
"If I took any out, it would be no more than 4 percent per year. That would give me around $400,000 after tax the first year and more each year after. With dividend reinvestment and compounding interest at the S&P's historical rate, I'd still have $19.5 million after 10 years.
"...If I won $1 million 20 years ago, I would, in hindsight, have bought property in the Pearl District or somewhere along the Vancouver side of the Columbia River or a rental at the beach. Or put $1 million into Northwest stocks like Intel, which now would be $32.4 million, or Microsoft, which now would be $348 million."
Scott Barchus, a CPA and principal for Wealth Advisors in Lake Oswego: "I would probably invest in a few things: international emerging markets, local startups and double-exempt municipal bonds.
"There is tremendous opportunity in Latin America, India, China and other countries in the Far East. What's hot about the emerging-market countries is the human capital and the natural resources....
"I'd also get into the venture capital market for small companies starting up here, especially in the technology and medical fields. There's a tremendous amount of startup companies in the Northwest, all looking for startup capital. They often do that in the form of private placements, but in order to participate you have to be an accredited investor (which requires $1 million in assets)....
"Many startups never make it, but in terms of the upside potential, you could see from 15 percent to in excess of 100 percent....
"Finally, from a tax standpoint, I would include a big chunk of municipal bonds. I think anyone with a windfall like this would have to consider taking on double-exempt bonds to avoid some of the 40 to 45 percent tax rate you'd otherwise have to pay."
Rick Grimshaw of West Linn, first vice president of wealth management/senior portfolio manager for Smith Barney: "If I had a $15 million windfall, the first thing I'd do is eliminate all debt, from the rest of the house payments to credit cards....
"Then I'd invest enough in assets like stocks, bonds and mutual funds to pay for my ongoing expenses and special expenses of other family members: college, elderly parents, down payments on my children's first homes. This way I could choose whether to continue working or not.
"Finally on my wish list, I'd work with an attorney to create a family foundation — and give a lot of it away."
Sound advice to a point; however, the financial planner who would invest in emerging international markets I think has bumped his head. That would be a red flag for me to have someone tell me, a new found wealthy person to put my money in international markets. I wouldn't return his call.
If I had $123,000,000, I may consider putting $10,000,000 in international markets. Today on the cover of the Wall Street Journal is an article about a hedge fund manager who has defrauded doctors, sports stars, etc. All told they have found only $150,000 of what he had Assets Under Management $115,000,000 now they are looking for the creep.
I raised this sad example because, its bad enough to have to watch those who you hire right here in America to handle your money, and for them to be putting your money to work in international markets, I don't think so. International laws about investment are not like our laws. So he could tell you anything while he builds up his fortune on your windfall. Anybody reading this advice should stay the hell away from this guy!
OK...let me try to clear this up in a simple manner. Stocks are risk investment. The market is volatile. Any one who had money in the stock market on 9-10 knows what their portfolio looked like on 9-12. When it comes to stocks there is no gurantee and no safe investment. What goes up can and will come down. Even Blue chips. Yes you can make money in the market but there is risk associated with it and people can and do loose money on stocks.
I am not a professional investor but here'e what I reccomend and in fact what I plan to do when I win:
(NOTE: Much of this plan depends on the size of the win but as a rule I'm talking about a significant win like $20 plus million with PB or MM.)
First with regard to existing debt...I do agree that it should be paid off. All debt. Mortgage, credit cards, car loans, medical bills, student loans...everything! But as to whether you should pay it off immediately with your winnings or develop a plan to pay it off from interest or dividends I'm or 2 thoughts. But whatever you do it should all be paid off within a year.
With regard to investments...minimum risk is the key to me. This can be accomplished through diversity and insurance gurantees. Therefore my plan looks something like this:
Generate income to live on:
The first part of the money goes into the highest rated tax free municipal bonds available. (U.S. Only!) These will probably pay something like 3% tax free. I'd put between 10% to 20% of the total jackpot there. (Once again it depends on how much you win and how much you'll need to maintain your new lifestyle.)
Next...CDARS. These are CD's that are covered by FDIC Insurance and will also pay something like 3% (taxable). I believe you can put something like $20 million in CDARS and still have them insured. Plus they are somewhat liquid. Depending on the size of the win I'd put perhaps 10% to 20% of the total jackpot there.
Then...U.S. government T-Bills and Bonds. This is the safest investment in the world and while not insured by the FDIC...they are backed by the U.S. government and if it fails (which is a distinct possibility) it doesn't matter because your life as you know it will probably be over any way. Somewhere between 30% to 50% (at least) would go there. (Maybe even more.)
I'd also place a bit in foreign government securities as well. But only in highly developed "western" nations. No third world, emerging nation investments at all. About 5% to10% would go here. (i.e. Governmental securities in Great Britain, Japan, etc.)
As I said about 5% to 10% would go into the stock market/mutual funds and the bulk of that would remain in the U.S. No risky investments at all...widows and orphans type stocks spread out to also include Blue Chip, small cap...mid cap and perhaps some growth stocks as well.
I'd also create an MSA (Medical Savings Account) or something similar. Most likely a flat dollar amount rather than a perchantage. This requires having a medical insurance policy with a large deductable and that may be tough to buy since by now I would have quit my job. But I'm sure it could still be done.
Real Estate would be next on the list...perhaps as much as 10% to 20% of the total jackpot would go into actual Real Estate with maybe a smaller perchantage invested in Real Estate stocks.
I'd also buy recious metals and other investments like gold, diamonds, jewelry...things of that nature. I probably wouldn't invest in paintings or cars and I'd stay away from commoditites but I would buy precious metals and the like. Again perhaps 10% to 20% of the total jackpot.
A Life Insurance policy? Maybe? IMHO that depends more on your dependants more than you.
Finally I'd keep some green "train riding" money squirreled away in some safe deposit boxes. A couple of hundred thousand G's here and there might come in handy on a rainy day or if you're kidnapped.
As for the entity...nothing would be in my name. (Well...next to nothing or very little.) I favor an LLC but a trust is also a great option.
And of course a chunk of money would have come right off the top to purchase and furnish a home in a gated community somewhere. And to pay for the lawyers, body guards, investment counselors, money managers, tax advisors etc that you'd have to have to survive.
I'm mostly with Uncle Jim on what I'd do. I expect that being broke is bad even more after you've spent some time being rich, so my first concern would be ensuring that there was virtually no chance of having my income drop below a level that's quite comfortable. That means that with 15 million to invest I'd put at least 5 into something solid but conservative. Like Uncle Jim I'd consider the possibility of government failure, but I'd also consider a major failure of the US economy. The government actually failing would be bad, but so would a few years of major inflation. 10 years from now an annual income of a million bucks could be just enough to get by. Investing in other stable countries offers an increased possibility of relocating and remaining comfortable. With the current trade deficit, an investment overseas may be just as much of an investment in US consumerism as investments within the US, anyway.
After that I'd get a bit more speculative and look for a bigger return, but I'd still put most of it in somewhat conservative areas,and I might put about 10% in areas that could bring substantial returns. There's no doubt that you can easily find yields of 10% and more in stocks of large, and apparently stable corporations. Just ask some of the people who owned stocks from Enron, Worldcom and Tyco. I'd look for something in between the 3 to 5% from very safe stuff like government bonds and CD's from large banks, and the probable long term safety and 10%+ average returns in the stock market. Starting with 15 million it would be difficult to have an annual after-tax income of less than 500k with high safety. I could easily spend a bit more in a typical year, especially since it would be nice to bring a select group of friends on some of the trips I'd be taking, but there's no reason to get greedy. Next to stupidity, greed is probably the biggest cause of losing the good life.
Some of the quotes attributed to supposed financial advisors leave me scratching my head, but I figure that they're often making broad generalizations, and even if they specifically point that out it may not make it into the article. The article says that the advisors were asked "what they would do with $15 million". In the case of the guy who talks about investing in emerging growth area overseas, he also clearly mentioned double-exempt municipal bonds and said he'd put "a big chunk" there. Without knowing what he was really asked and what qualifications he may have placed on his answers there's no way of knowing how good (or bad) his advice was or if those answers would even apply to any given client. If he's still moderately young putting 1/3 into something speculative is a personal choice, not a bad plan. The world is full of success stories about sustained returns of 30, 40, 50% and more, along with the companies that tanked or just went nowhere. The secret is in putting your eggs in a lot of different baskets.
My sister in law is a stock broker with a huge set of brass ones that most of us can only wish we had. She's put thousands at a clip into many things that have gone up five and ten fold within 1 to 3 years. Most have then dropped dramatically in a very short time, and a others have leveled off and remained solid. When a few of your investments have increased by 5 to 10 times in only a few years you can afford to lose every penny in a few other investments. Overall her average has been very good and her clients' trading has rewarded her with commissions as high as 50K in a month. My brother and I are much more conservative in our nature. He hangs on for the ride and I wish it was my wife bringing in that kind of income and investing it that well. Like my SIL, everyone here is a gambler. It's up to each of us to decide how much we'll risk for a possible reward.
Jim and KY make valid points. I would add that my "stash" would be gold. I've mentioned before, a few hundred aacres in Colorado, with some gold stashed would always come in incase the world decided to make a bigger fool of itself then it already has. Gold is gold. Cash is unrealiable in a violatile market.
I agree. As I said I would buy (and stash some) some gold. But why limit it to only gold? Diamonds (and other jewels) have timeless value too and they are a hell of a lot smaller and portable than gold. And easier to dispose of too.
@KY Floyd:
You do have an excellent point about inflation. If there is a flaw in my plan it is that my plan really doesn't account well for inflation. Well at least not as well as I think it should. Again...the limited stock market investments I would make would not be enough to live on and even with dividend re-investment (which I forgot to mention) it would still provide only the smallest hedge against inflation.
You and I are on the same page earnings wise too. I think it would be very difficult to make an after tax return of $600,000 on an initital investment of $20 million and still have the security and diversity I would require. As a hedge against inflation my plan also includes re-investing a part of the income you generate as living expenses. Let the stocks and bonds mature and grow but as a safe bet against inflation I figure (conservatively) that I would have to re-invest something like a minimum of 20% of my net income and perhaps more realisticly something like 25% to 40%.
I think it's important to remember that you are not just investing for today...you are looking out 10...20...30...or even 50 or more years to cover the span of your life. You need to be able to mix up your investments by having short, intermediate and long term diverse investments so you can react to changing market conditions. What looks good today may not be such a good idea in 10 years. That's one reason CDARS appeal to me. They provide a degree of liquidity and flexibility with an insurance gurantee.
As for the notion of charity. Well, there are some tax beneifts to giving money away to accredited charities. And for that reason I might look for some deductable contributions. But the bottom line with me is...and you call me hard hearted if you like...regardless of whether you give it away to charity or pay it in taxes it's still gone! Any money I may or may not give away would be given anonymously.
Finally, I would be very wary of any start up companies. While I agree that there can be a lot of money made there...a lot of money can be lost there too. The risk is just too much for me. I got a windfall here and I'm not going to blow it on the next great invention.
As I said somewhere else on this forum...if I'm going to blow my money I'm going to Vegas to blow it on booze, games and women. Well most of it anyway. I might blow some of it on some frivolous stuff too.
"If you won the lottery, as eight Nebraska meatpackers did last month, splitting a $365 million jackpot, what investment would be at the top of your wish list?"
Just doodling the rough numbers . . .
$177.3M cash option ÷ by 8 = $22.162M - 25% federal and 5% Nebraska withholding = $15.5M - $2.22M another 10% of $22.162M for the total 35% federal tax obligation = $13.3M
If that amount was invested in a high-yield corporate bond mutual fund yielding around 7%: $13.5M x 7% = $945,000 - $349,650 (estimated 32% federal and 5% Nebraska tax) = $595,350 spendable annual income . . of course that amount would fluctuate with market conditions, but that yield rate would provide a spendable budget in the neighborhood of $50,000 per month.
What could possibly be a better charity than just paying the full federal tax obligation (no deductions) . . those choosing to reside below sea level, and the obese that need stomach stapling operations will be truly grateful. Unless their policy has changed, the Salvation Army considers lottery winnings to be "tainted" and will not accept direct donations. However, that money becomes "cleansed" if received in the form of contractor payments from the federal government.
You can tell they don't deal with the middle class or people that work for a living. Not getting a new house or car really sounds stupid when you have a car pushing 1 million miles and live in an apartment that's smaller than most closets in large homes. I don't think at 15 million you should get a Ferrarri and a waterfront mansion but you could get a new honda and an average home in a safe neighborhood.
The notion that you should give it away in a family foundation is also right out. I wouldn't give it away to strangers irregardless of how much I won. I would focus on giving to my family and friends.
Sage advice, but I wonder wow much of it will be heeded ?
Sound advice to a point; however, the financial planner who would invest in emerging international markets I think has bumped his head. That would be a red flag for me to have someone tell me, a new found wealthy person to put my money in international markets. I wouldn't return his call.
If I had $123,000,000, I may consider putting $10,000,000 in international markets. Today on the cover of the Wall Street Journal is an article about a hedge fund manager who has defrauded doctors, sports stars, etc. All told they have found only $150,000 of what he had Assets Under Management $115,000,000 now they are looking for the creep.
I raised this sad example because, its bad enough to have to watch those who you hire right here in America to handle your money, and for them to be putting your money to work in international markets, I don't think so. International laws about investment are not like our laws. So he could tell you anything while he builds up his fortune on your windfall. Anybody reading this advice should stay the hell away from this guy!
I agree with delS. And to take it one step further anyone who put more than 5% to 10% in the stock market has rocks in their head.
Jim
I must have rocks in my head. I would put 100% in the stock market. I would keep the principal and live off the dividends.
OK...let me try to clear this up in a simple manner. Stocks are risk investment. The market is volatile. Any one who had money in the stock market on 9-10 knows what their portfolio looked like on 9-12. When it comes to stocks there is no gurantee and no safe investment. What goes up can and will come down. Even Blue chips. Yes you can make money in the market but there is risk associated with it and people can and do loose money on stocks.
I am not a professional investor but here'e what I reccomend and in fact what I plan to do when I win:
(NOTE: Much of this plan depends on the size of the win but as a rule I'm talking about a significant win like $20 plus million with PB or MM.)
First with regard to existing debt...I do agree that it should be paid off. All debt. Mortgage, credit cards, car loans, medical bills, student loans...everything! But as to whether you should pay it off immediately with your winnings or develop a plan to pay it off from interest or dividends I'm or 2 thoughts. But whatever you do it should all be paid off within a year.
With regard to investments...minimum risk is the key to me. This can be accomplished through diversity and insurance gurantees. Therefore my plan looks something like this:
Generate income to live on:
The first part of the money goes into the highest rated tax free municipal bonds available. (U.S. Only!) These will probably pay something like 3% tax free. I'd put between 10% to 20% of the total jackpot there. (Once again it depends on how much you win and how much you'll need to maintain your new lifestyle.)
Next...CDARS. These are CD's that are covered by FDIC Insurance and will also pay something like 3% (taxable). I believe you can put something like $20 million in CDARS and still have them insured. Plus they are somewhat liquid. Depending on the size of the win I'd put perhaps 10% to 20% of the total jackpot there.
Then...U.S. government T-Bills and Bonds. This is the safest investment in the world and while not insured by the FDIC...they are backed by the U.S. government and if it fails (which is a distinct possibility) it doesn't matter because your life as you know it will probably be over any way. Somewhere between 30% to 50% (at least) would go there. (Maybe even more.)
I'd also place a bit in foreign government securities as well. But only in highly developed "western" nations. No third world, emerging nation investments at all. About 5% to10% would go here. (i.e. Governmental securities in Great Britain, Japan, etc.)
As I said about 5% to 10% would go into the stock market/mutual funds and the bulk of that would remain in the U.S. No risky investments at all...widows and orphans type stocks spread out to also include Blue Chip, small cap...mid cap and perhaps some growth stocks as well.
I'd also create an MSA (Medical Savings Account) or something similar. Most likely a flat dollar amount rather than a perchantage. This requires having a medical insurance policy with a large deductable and that may be tough to buy since by now I would have quit my job. But I'm sure it could still be done.
Real Estate would be next on the list...perhaps as much as 10% to 20% of the total jackpot would go into actual Real Estate with maybe a smaller perchantage invested in Real Estate stocks.
I'd also buy recious metals and other investments like gold, diamonds, jewelry...things of that nature. I probably wouldn't invest in paintings or cars and I'd stay away from commoditites but I would buy precious metals and the like. Again perhaps 10% to 20% of the total jackpot.
A Life Insurance policy? Maybe? IMHO that depends more on your dependants more than you.
Finally I'd keep some green "train riding" money squirreled away in some safe deposit boxes. A couple of hundred thousand G's here and there might come in handy on a rainy day or if you're kidnapped.
As for the entity...nothing would be in my name. (Well...next to nothing or very little.) I favor an LLC but a trust is also a great option.
And of course a chunk of money would have come right off the top to purchase and furnish a home in a gated community somewhere. And to pay for the lawyers, body guards, investment counselors, money managers, tax advisors etc that you'd have to have to survive.
Jim
Or put $1 million into Northwest stocks like Intel, which now would be $32.4 million, or Microsoft, which now would be $348 million."
Wow Microsoft here I come. I could live off the interest from a million dollars for 20 years easily to begin, and that would only be more incentive.
I'm mostly with Uncle Jim on what I'd do. I expect that being broke is bad even more after you've spent some time being rich, so my first concern would be ensuring that there was virtually no chance of having my income drop below a level that's quite comfortable. That means that with 15 million to invest I'd put at least 5 into something solid but conservative. Like Uncle Jim I'd consider the possibility of government failure, but I'd also consider a major failure of the US economy. The government actually failing would be bad, but so would a few years of major inflation. 10 years from now an annual income of a million bucks could be just enough to get by. Investing in other stable countries offers an increased possibility of relocating and remaining comfortable. With the current trade deficit, an investment overseas may be just as much of an investment in US consumerism as investments within the US, anyway.
After that I'd get a bit more speculative and look for a bigger return, but I'd still put most of it in somewhat conservative areas,and I might put about 10% in areas that could bring substantial returns. There's no doubt that you can easily find yields of 10% and more in stocks of large, and apparently stable corporations. Just ask some of the people who owned stocks from Enron, Worldcom and Tyco. I'd look for something in between the 3 to 5% from very safe stuff like government bonds and CD's from large banks, and the probable long term safety and 10%+ average returns in the stock market. Starting with 15 million it would be difficult to have an annual after-tax income of less than 500k with high safety. I could easily spend a bit more in a typical year, especially since it would be nice to bring a select group of friends on some of the trips I'd be taking, but there's no reason to get greedy. Next to stupidity, greed is probably the biggest cause of losing the good life.
Some of the quotes attributed to supposed financial advisors leave me scratching my head, but I figure that they're often making broad generalizations, and even if they specifically point that out it may not make it into the article. The article says that the advisors were asked "what they would do with $15 million". In the case of the guy who talks about investing in emerging growth area overseas, he also clearly mentioned double-exempt municipal bonds and said he'd put "a big chunk" there. Without knowing what he was really asked and what qualifications he may have placed on his answers there's no way of knowing how good (or bad) his advice was or if those answers would even apply to any given client. If he's still moderately young putting 1/3 into something speculative is a personal choice, not a bad plan. The world is full of success stories about sustained returns of 30, 40, 50% and more, along with the companies that tanked or just went nowhere. The secret is in putting your eggs in a lot of different baskets.
My sister in law is a stock broker with a huge set of brass ones that most of us can only wish we had. She's put thousands at a clip into many things that have gone up five and ten fold within 1 to 3 years. Most have then dropped dramatically in a very short time, and a others have leveled off and remained solid. When a few of your investments have increased by 5 to 10 times in only a few years you can afford to lose every penny in a few other investments. Overall her average has been very good and her clients' trading has rewarded her with commissions as high as 50K in a month. My brother and I are much more conservative in our nature. He hangs on for the ride and I wish it was my wife bringing in that kind of income and investing it that well. Like my SIL, everyone here is a gambler. It's up to each of us to decide how much we'll risk for a possible reward.
The article was doing real good - until the end. Give a lot of it away? B.S. !
Jim and KY make valid points. I would add that my "stash" would be gold. I've mentioned before, a few hundred aacres in Colorado, with some gold stashed would always come in incase the world decided to make a bigger fool of itself then it already has. Gold is gold. Cash is unrealiable in a violatile market.
@Chewie:
I agree. As I said I would buy (and stash some) some gold. But why limit it to only gold? Diamonds (and other jewels) have timeless value too and they are a hell of a lot smaller and portable than gold. And easier to dispose of too.
@KY Floyd:
You do have an excellent point about inflation. If there is a flaw in my plan it is that my plan really doesn't account well for inflation. Well at least not as well as I think it should. Again...the limited stock market investments I would make would not be enough to live on and even with dividend re-investment (which I forgot to mention) it would still provide only the smallest hedge against inflation.
You and I are on the same page earnings wise too. I think it would be very difficult to make an after tax return of $600,000 on an initital investment of $20 million and still have the security and diversity I would require. As a hedge against inflation my plan also includes re-investing a part of the income you generate as living expenses. Let the stocks and bonds mature and grow but as a safe bet against inflation I figure (conservatively) that I would have to re-invest something like a minimum of 20% of my net income and perhaps more realisticly something like 25% to 40%.
I think it's important to remember that you are not just investing for today...you are looking out 10...20...30...or even 50 or more years to cover the span of your life. You need to be able to mix up your investments by having short, intermediate and long term diverse investments so you can react to changing market conditions. What looks good today may not be such a good idea in 10 years. That's one reason CDARS appeal to me. They provide a degree of liquidity and flexibility with an insurance gurantee.
As for the notion of charity. Well, there are some tax beneifts to giving money away to accredited charities. And for that reason I might look for some deductable contributions. But the bottom line with me is...and you call me hard hearted if you like...regardless of whether you give it away to charity or pay it in taxes it's still gone! Any money I may or may not give away would be given anonymously.
Finally, I would be very wary of any start up companies. While I agree that there can be a lot of money made there...a lot of money can be lost there too. The risk is just too much for me. I got a windfall here and I'm not going to blow it on the next great invention.
As I said somewhere else on this forum...if I'm going to blow my money I'm going to Vegas to blow it on booze, games and women. Well most of it anyway. I might blow some of it on some frivolous stuff too.
Jim
"large and apparently stable corporations" "like Enron, Worldcom and Tyco"?!?!?! WTF?
"If you won the lottery, as eight Nebraska meatpackers did last month, splitting a $365 million jackpot, what investment would be at the top of your wish list?"
Just doodling the rough numbers . . .
$177.3M cash option ÷ by 8 = $22.162M
- 25% federal and 5% Nebraska withholding = $15.5M
- $2.22M another 10% of $22.162M for the total 35% federal tax obligation = $13.3M
If that amount was invested in a high-yield corporate bond mutual fund yielding around 7%:
$13.5M x 7% = $945,000
- $349,650 (estimated 32% federal and 5% Nebraska tax) = $595,350 spendable annual income . . of course that amount would fluctuate with market conditions, but that yield rate would provide a spendable budget in the neighborhood of $50,000 per month.
What could possibly be a better charity than just paying the full federal tax obligation (no deductions) . . those choosing to reside below sea level, and the obese that need stomach stapling operations will be truly grateful. Unless their policy has changed, the Salvation Army considers lottery winnings to be "tainted" and will not accept direct donations. However, that money becomes "cleansed" if received in the form of contractor payments from the federal government.
You can tell they don't deal with the middle class or people that work for a living. Not getting a new house or car really sounds stupid when you have a car pushing 1 million miles and live in an apartment that's smaller than most closets in large homes. I don't think at 15 million you should get a Ferrarri and a waterfront mansion but you could get a new honda and an average home in a safe neighborhood.
The notion that you should give it away in a family foundation is also right out. I wouldn't give it away to strangers irregardless of how much I won. I would focus on giving to my family and friends.
If you get a financial advisor You better hire someone to lwatch the financial and someone to watch the person watching the first person.
Make it easy on yourself. Give all the money to the Gov,t and let them decide what you need. They already do that anyhow.>LOL<