If I say Jeff, Bill, Warren, Bernard and Mark who am I talking about? Did I just willy-nilly pick these monikers out of a hat as my favourite boys names for 2018? Well that’s a no, let me add Bezos, Gates, Buffett, Arnault and Zuckerberg. Put the name and surname together and in that order, according to Bloomburg Billionaire Index 2018, we have the richest people on the planet just now. Number two (eh second best, well knock me down with a feather) is Bill Gates, co-founder Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is worth a cool $91.5 billion. And the winner is with a mighty drum roll…… Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of amazon.com, worth a staggering, numb chilling $128.4 billion. That kind of money is what fairy tales and dreams are made of. So all you need is your personal fairy godmother to wave her magic wand in your direction and hey presto, you’ve nailed it. But never that much, that’s serious dosh by any stretch of the imagination. Mind you never knock wishful and positive thinking, they are key components along with the magic.
Most of us buy a lottery ticket or play online bingo in the hope that we have the winning ticket and rake in a fortune. Maybe we don’t want to be as rich as Prince Abdul Mateen from Brunei, who’s father is worth mega billions. We might only aspire to millions as long as there are a good few of them to get our hands on. Humble to a fault… As is life, there are ups and downs for every scenario. Some people have been known to spectacularly blow it all with not a care in the world and end up skint and back in their “dead-end” job several years after their big win. Non stop outrageous parties makes a huge dent in your nest egg and that’s one thing we definitely wouldn’t recommend. People who have won vast sums of money, have seen their friends and even their partner remove themselves from their life and made enemies just because they won big. Green eyed jealousy rearing its ugly head comes to mind. So it’s not all plain sailing if you put on your “realist” hat for a moment.
Folks will tell you “money can’t buy you happiness” and they have another 24 things on their list to share with you which is a bit depressing. But let’s not dwell on the negative and look at the positives which can enhance your life. So let’s go a bit OTT and explore the outrageous buys first. Fancy a private island? How’s about Ranayai Island, Thailand Asia? It’s up for sale for $160 million and just east of Phuket, so nice area… At that price, it’s just a drop in the ocean, pardon the pun, for the likes of Jeff Bezos. What about booking yourself a place on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceship? That will only knock you back $250,000. That could be appealing if you have aspirations of being rocket-man! They do say “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, how’s about the Millennium Star diamond the one that they attempted to nick but the Metropolitan Police put a stop to that one. Now that could have been so embarrassing if it went the other way. Art is always a good investment, so will it be one Picasso or two?
This whimsical look should scream out loud and clear that what you really need is sound financial counselling if you are fortunate enough to win big time. Don’t leave anything to chance and get your experienced team of professionals around you ASAP. They will gently guide you step by step with your new found wealth. The one thing you don’t want to do is fall into any deep hole pitfalls or get your fingers burnt. You pay your money, you get your advice like everything else in life. You wouldn’t go out and buy a house without a surveyors report or invest in a company without your financial advisor doing some ground work first or buy a motor car without a mechanic giving it a once over. Now that would be pure folly.
Most people when they win want a new house, new car, luxury holiday for the family, like a trip to Disneyland and I don’t mean Paris and the peace of mind that their new found wealth is invested properly so they can enjoy their new lifestyle for as long as possible. Keep your family and true friends and advisory team close to you for as stress free a time as possible. Most of all enjoy the win and all the trappings that go with it. Good luck to all because it could be you and we at bingowars.com will be cock-a-hoop excited for you if you win big time.