Didja win?
Hoboken Now is reporting 1 winner in New Jersey! And another in Georgia.
GA only got ONE winning number- the 38. Do I get anything?
I'll never forget a client complaining to me- way back, what a hassle it was being rich (he was). You know, all the bother managing one's wealth, various properties, stocks, assorted assets. Boo freakin'-hoo.
While I thought he was showing off, I remember thinking there was probably a grain of truth in that. A teeny-tiny one.
How would you handle a $640 million (divided by 2) windfall?
GA's known some born-rich and nouveau riche and they are different animals. The born-rich think rich, the nouveau riche act rich.
In other words, you may spend an hour talking to a born-rich and never know it- they don't want you to.
A nouveau riche, on the other hand, has a learning curve to develop the social and psychological aspects of being wealthy. Some are so modest- even seem in denial like Frank Raia- who is about as down-to-earth as they come. Others choose to be chauffeured than walk, or delegate simple tasks to 'the help', or use their money in a lavishly conspicuous fashion (millions of bucks on a Mile Square mayoral campaign) acting out their financial success.
Whatever it is, the sudden acquisition of vast wealth must be mind-blowing.
GA remembers once chatting with a modest, genial fellow at a party on the upper West side of Manhattan who invited some of us back to his place. Which turned out to be a sprawling Fifth Avenue over-the-top, custom-designed (fantasy) penthouse by a famous architect (Helmut Jahn? Hans Hollein? Forgot). Everything was custom, down to fixtures and accessories. Well, I'd hung out with the guy all night, and who knew?
That's when I became aware of my own discomfort with extreme wealth.
Which is WHY I'm so grateful I ONLY got number 38 and not the others: 2, 4, 23, 46 and Mega Ball 23.
Yeah, right...
Update, 12:00 noon
Hoboken Now got it wrong:
Lottery ticket-holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland each selected the winning numbers for the world record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot, lottery officials said early Saturday.No New Jersey winner.
Hoboken Now gets more than just lottery winners wrong.... ;-)
ReplyDeleteMBB has an old friend whose father won the State lottery in the early 1980's. Not mega-millions, but still a very nice sum.
He remained ever a humble working-class man. Never moved or upgraded his lifestyle in any significant way. Gave some to his parish & bought his adult kids new cars. And cautiously invested the rest.
When he died 20 yrs. later, his daughter received a very tidy sum. It enabled her to buy a home & put $$ into her savings & retirement. She bought modestly, but in a nice urban neighborhood.
She uses some of her inheritance for an HIV charity close to her heart, but also invests major sweat equity for all that foundation's events. She takes very interesting semi-annual vacations, but also continues to work very hard at her day job. No notion of livin' large for her.
Some people are sane & sober with their money. No matter how humble or to-the-manor-borne. And also demonstrate a genuine generosity of spirit.
And then there are the polar opposites of MBB's friend & her late father: The poster children of "Grand Delusions" in the Second Ward.