[Sardino]

After years of working long hours late into the night and forsaking a social life to pursue your goals you finally become a billionaire. Having crossed that threshold by doing something extraordinary, several news outlets run a story about your new membership to the super elite.

A few minutes later the phone calls start. It starts with people you used to know.
"Hey dude, we used to party it up pretty hard back in college, now that you're a billionaire we can really do it big!"
"Hey bro, times are tough, can you loan me $25,000 so I can pay my rent?"

But then the strangers start calling:
"Hey my grandma is sick, can you pay for her surgery? You're a billionaire after all, that is like pennies to you!"
"I'm with The Foundation to Give Reading Lights to Kids Without Electricity, we would really appreciate your generosity today!"

It's not all bad though; hot bitches you are acquainted with call you and say that you guys should catch up.

Despite everyone treating you differently all of the sudden, you haven't changed overnight, so you try to live your life the way you had been living it for years. You go to the same coffee shop in the morning, you eat lunch at the same place, you drink with your friends at the same places. But all of the people that you used to encounter in your daily life now know that you're a billionaire, and they wont let you live the way you used to. Workers treat you with more respect than before, they address you as sir, they stumble extra hard to serve you as quick as possible. But the people around you take notice and they stare at you with envy. Some even make snide remarks that you can overhear.

The worst part about being a billionaire is the effect is has on your friends. Unless they are successful in their own right your relationship with them will be strained due to the inequality of power. This probably isn't that big of a deal though because you dropped all of your dead weight friends long before you started rising to the top.


I've provided some situations that might occur if you became a billionaire, how would you guys respond to them?
What other situations do you see coming up as a billionaire?
How does being a billionaire change the way you game women?

[hoops330]

money doesnt change you, it just makes you more of what you already are.....let that one marinate for a while

[OSL]

This is a good thread.

It reminds me of the blog/book by this guy MJ DeMarco who, while not a billionaire, talks about some of this stuff.

http://www.mjdemarco.com/

http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/

I can already see the leeches and parasites who would start hitting me up for favors. I can name them by name - I went to a very cutthroat and competitive school in the American northeast and if I were to become that successful a lot of these kinds of people would, as Gordon Gekko would put it, be "sucking at my kneecaps."

I like this lyric from the Jay-Z track "Public Service Announcement"

"No matter where you go, you are what you are player
And you can try to change but that's just the top layer
Man, you was who you was 'fore you got here
Only God can judge me, so I'm gone
Either love me, or leave me alone"

I personally would start donating money and setting up foundations for maritime environmental protection. Sure, I might do some favors for some people.

[OSL]

(06-16-2011 01:03 AM)hoops330 Wrote:  

money doesnt change you, it just makes you more of what you already are.....let that one marinate for a while

I think Tim Ferriss said something like:

"Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice."

[hoops330]

(06-16-2011 01:26 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  

(06-16-2011 01:03 AM)hoops330 Wrote:  

money doesnt change you, it just makes you more of what you already are.....let that one marinate for a while

I think Tim Ferriss said something like:

"Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice."

could be....i was quoting Little Brother, the hip hop group from North Carolina

[amistod]

(06-16-2011 01:03 AM)hoops330 Wrote:  

money doesnt change you, it just makes you more of what you already are.....let that one marinate for a while

so its similar to being drunk?

[raliv]

Quote:

Despite everyone treating you differently all of the sudden, you haven't changed overnight, so you try to live your life the way you had been living it for years. You go to the same coffee shop in the morning, you eat lunch at the same place, you drink with your friends at the same places.

I think the problem here is becoming a billionaire and then acting like you haven't.

When I make it to a billion, you better believe that I am going to be throwing down sick parties and living in mansions and driving sport cars and buying yachts and blowing mountains of coke and dating porn stars and all that.

Think Charlie Sheen times 10.

Some guys acting like they wouldn't do anything differently are doing it all wrong.

Quote:

The worst part about being a billionaire is the effect is has on your friends.

I just would have an Entourage of my friends. They would love it.

[Dash Global]

All these random ppl would not have my number for one. if someone did manage to acquire it and call me looking for money i would politely disregard their request. Obviously real friends and family I would help.

I would be the same personality wise.

[Sardino]

It would be interesting to record someone's life before they become a billionaire and a year after. The subtle differences in how they would treat people is what interests me. I think it would be pretty hard to attain that much wealth and not look down on people to some extent.

[Tommy]

I would be have luxury condos and houses all around the world and I would travel the world on a weekly basis.

[Tuthmosis]

I frankly don't think that I'd act much differently than at other times during my life when, through my diligence and persistence, I've upgraded some major aspect of my shit. When I got serious about game, for instance, I lost patience with my lame, beta friends and stopped hanging with them for the most part. Nowadays, I've gotten to the point in my life where I see a lot of people (including low-quality girls) as simple time-bandits and drag-me-downs. I marginalize people that don't offer something in exchange for what I feel I bring to the table. I'd probably do something similar if I were to become a billionaire. Some people would be worthwhile (people that bring something valuable--not just money or fame--and don't just start coming after my paper) and others wouldn't. I would do another "cut," but probably end up keeping most of the people that have already made it through my pre-billionaire screening process of being "valuable" in some way.

I'm sure people would say that "I've changed." Thing is, I'm already like this.

[rudebwoy]

I would lose sleep over which car to get - Mercedes SLS or the Mercedes Mclaren SLR. lol

All seriousness, I would travel the world non stop. There are so many interesting places mentioned on this forum that I would be busy for quite awhile. I would not mind having money but I would not want anyone to know I have that money, that is my biggest fear/problem.

As I have gotten older I realize that money does not make me happy, being able to travel does and I do not need alot of money to do that.

[Sardino]

I think one of the problems with being a billionaire is that people treat you like a billionaire and stop treating you like a regular person. The question I was trying to ask in this thread is how do you respond to people when they treat you like a bag of money? Do you tell them to fuck off? Do you stare at them until they leave? Do you make them jump through a bunch of hoops to get what they want?

I think a lot of billionaires look for an escape from their lifestyle every now and then. If I was a billionaire, when I got tired of people I would go off somewhere in the world and pretend to be a regular backpacker.

[MMA]

(06-16-2011 09:35 AM)raliv Wrote:  

I think the problem here is becoming a billionaire and then acting like you haven't.

When I make it to a billion, you better believe that I am going to be throwing down sick parties and living in mansions and driving sport cars and buying yachts and blowing mountains of coke and dating porn stars and all that.

Think Charlie Sheen times 10.

Lol not to rain on your parade but sounds more like your thinking about becoming a Billionaire just for the lifestyle, couldn't you get the same lifestyle with say 20 million? Billionaires rarely get there because they want to drive nice cars and own big mansions, they get there because their hobby turns into a borderline obsession.

When you become a Billionaire (if you do) you'll be less concerned with the lifestyle as it becomes only a "nice" to have. You'll be more thrilled to get up in the morning to crush competition, hit revenue goal and chart maps for mass corporate takeover

(06-16-2011 09:35 AM)raliv Wrote:  

Some guys acting like they wouldn't do anything differently are doing it all wrong.

I just would have an Entourage of my friends. They would love it.

Speaking of Entourage...guys like Vinny will never become a billionaire, at the end of the day if you really think about it he's just another employee collecting a paycheck. You won't become wealthy until you can write a paycheck like that

Chris Rock puts it best, Rich vs. Wealth (skip to 0:42):

[MMA]

(06-18-2011 12:05 PM)Sardino Wrote:  

I think one of the problems with being a billionaire is that people treat you like a billionaire and stop treating you like a regular person. The question I was trying to ask in this thread is how do you respond to people when they treat you like a bag of money? Do you tell them to fuck off? Do you stare at them until they leave? Do you make them jump through a bunch of hoops to get what they want?

I think a lot of billionaires look for an escape from their lifestyle every now and then. If I was a billionaire, when I got tired of people I would go off somewhere in the world and pretend to be a regular backpacker.

Sounds like a nice problem to have lol. But do you have that hard of time saying 'no' to people? If someone comes to you (family or friends) asking for money..simply ask them the purpose, how you will be paid back, and what security can they offer that's equivalent to the loan. If they can't answer those question then say: "I have denied myself much and wisely reinvested all my surplus earnings, I value my money very much for that reason and I cannot lend it not knowing how it will come back."

But if they are asking for a 'handout' and insisting on you dividing your wealth with them, why do you still have them in your life? It's different when you have money and your mom needs a surgery, then that's no brainer, she doesn't even have to ask for that. However, if your old high school best friend or your uncle is asking 30k to settle a gambling debt, then why are they there to ask in the first place?

Remember: "You are the average of 5 people you surround yourself with"

Billionaire don't get that way by hanging out with dead beats

[Excelsior]

My strategy would involve maximum independence and discretion.

The first step towards the furthering of this strategy would require my near disappearance.

There are a decent number of billionaires in the US, and with the exception of an elite few(Jobs, Gates and Buffet mainly), we often can't put faces to them. Even the google founders could quite easily blend in. My being black will make this harder (I don't think there are any black male american billionaires today, so it'd get more attention if one showed up), so I'll need to lay totally low for quite some time. That will involve me probably going overseas where fewer people will have heard of me and just blending in nicely for a bit, away from the glare of the American celebrity scene.

I won't get any of those calls because nobody will know my number. I really have never had many close friends. Those very few people will receive gifts as a token of my appreciation discreetly and remotely from me(ex: arrange delivery of a new car to their driveways or something with a short, unsigned note attached) and they won't have my name on it-they'll just need to know who they are. Even they will not have my contact information-I will leave my hometown and take my mother with me and there will be no details or trails left for ANYONE. I won't need to deal with the friend relationship strain because of this.

I'll also probably make an anonymous gift to my current school just before I graduate. The trustees and a few faculty will know who did it, but I don't want my name on anything.

A few of my relatives will receive similar remote gifts from me, though they'll actually have some contact info(probably just my mother's number).
I don't want to hear anything from old girls I had been acquainted with, not even for short term flings. They too will know nothing of my contact info or where I've went.

My traveling will allow me to blend in and be more normal (who in Poland is going to know or care who I am?), though I'll have a lot more financial power at my disposal than the average tourist. I'll set up a couple of bases around the world, places where I will have a permanent residence and a car, and I'd reside in each for a few months at a time, rotating during the year. While I'm laying low, I'll get my portfolio set up to start providing more passive income for me to live on and invest. I'll make new friends. After a year or two, with the hype having largely blown over, I'll set foot discreetly in the USA again and perhaps buy a place here as another base.

I'll game women normally while I'm overseas for the most part, though I'd buy plenty on the side as well (Sheen style).

[Chase]

(06-16-2011 01:22 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  

It reminds me of the blog/book by this guy MJ DeMarco who, while not a billionaire, talks about some of this stuff.

http://www.mjdemarco.com/
http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/

Did you (or anyone on this forum) read his book? Just started reading his free chapters and I am curious.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

I would say yes to things that I want and no to things that don't want to do.

People asking me money:
When I was poor, you didn't asked for my money because you knew it was mine and you respected this plus my reasons to do not give it. Today, I'm rich and the money is still mine. I still may not give you any. and I'm not a worse person from that.

Non-profit organizations:

I would choose once per year one of it or two and send them money anonymously. and say no to investidors. I would research by myself and see which one deserves it.

My money spend.

Living in Brazil I think that I need to make my money flow and I would open some business or some sord of investments to develop some area or employ people. This is my contribution to the world. Period.

[DTA]

I'd settle somewhere in Switzerland, Germany, or France, and periodically send money home to my family to ensure their comfort. I'd worry about the charity/helping stuff when people forget about me and assume I'm never coming back. As for friends, I would help those who have been close to me and that's it. And the only instances where I'd give money to people I don't know are treatments for terminally sick adults and children. That's something I would feel good about.

A billion is a ton of money. I'd probably build a massive recording studio and record songs for weeks at a time, then disappear to an exotic locale for a few weeks.

As for helping random people - "I can't pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend..."