Tonight's Euromillion lottery jackpot is 66 million pounds. That's almost 100 million euro. That's almost 130 million US dollars. That's over 150 million Canadian dollars. That's over 160 million Australian dollars. That's 15,658 million Japanese Yen.
That's a lot of money.
And, it's not a roll-over which means that even if nobody gets all of the numbers drawn tonight, the prize will roll down to the next winning ticket. Someone tonight is winning £66 million.
But I don't play the lottery...
...until now! Damn right I bought a ticket! 66 million squid! Woo hoo!
I bought my tickets on Tuesday (and don't worry; I didn't go mad and spend all my savings on tickets. I just bought four) and since then I've been having the "what would you do if you won?" conversation with practically everyone. I mean, 66 million is a lot of money. I'm not one of those people who goes around saying "Oh, no, I wouldn't like to win that much. That's too much money! No, I'd be happy with just a million."
Wankers.
A million will buy you diddly squat nowdays. Well, relatively speaking, of course.
No, I want the full whack. But, what to do with it all?
I think I'd take the first six million and just be silly. I'd buy myself a big ol' house back home near my parents in Ireland, and another one near Exeter, my favourite part of the UK. That's probably about 2 million gone (house prices are crazy over here), including the cost of furnishing both houses, etc. I'd also treat myself to a swanky villa in the south of France and another one in Italy, and maybe (i.e., definately) a ski chalet in Whistler. That's probably about 1.5 million, again including buying all the gear required (bikinis and skis). The next thing I'd do is buy myself a decent car. I quite fancy that Toyota Prius because it looks alright, and it's environmentally friendly. Just 'cause I'm rich doesn't mean I can't be globally aware ;)
After that, I think I'd take some time off and bring my family and close friends away on a much needed and deserved holiday. It would have to be someplace secret because you can't win that amount of money and live a normal life. Remember what happened that Irish woman who won €150 million back in 2005? No? Well, after she picked up her massive cheque, she and her family had to go into hiding as there had been kidnapping threats made against her son, and other assorted madness.
Obviously, whoever wins tonight will be subject to intense media and other unwanted attention.
So, eventually, when it's safe to return, there's still the question of the remaining £60 million. Obviously I'd give my parents a big wad of cash to pay their mortgage and basically ensure they want for nothing for the rest of their lives. Similarily, the rest of my family would get a nice little nest egg. And my closest friends would not be left wanting. Let's say that's another ten million taken care of.
That's £50 million left.
Next, I'd like to give a large amount of my winnings to charity. But, again, who do you donate it to? I'd probably give a million each to the charities that I already donate monthly to, namely, Médecins Sans Frontiers and the RSPCA. I'd give a million each to the NSPCC, and To Russia With Love charities. I'd also like to donate money to the campaign to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa and the campaign to build schools for girls in Afghanistan, amongst others. There are so many charities out there that it's difficult to know where to send your money, regardless of how much money you have. So, when I can donate money, I donate it to charities that I know make an actual difference.
That would probably leave me with about £35-£40 million, depending on how charitable I felt. And all of that would go into the bank until I could figure out what to do with it. I'd like to use some of it towards helping raise awareness of global climate change, but I'd have to do a bit more research into that to see how best the money could be spent.
So... with my £35 million or so sitting in the bank, the burning question is: do I go back to work?
I had a long discussion with Mairead about this on the phone last night (that's how seriously I take my blogs! *ahem*). The thing is that I would definately have to keep working in some capacity or other. I mean, I'm only 28 years old. I've got a lot of life ahead of me. And, sure, I'd like to take some time out to go travelling and visit all those places I've never been to before (like Cornwall, for example). But I could only do that for so long before I'd probably get bored.
And then there's the other factor: I actually like my job. Sure, I'm not overly thrilled about my current job location, but the actual work itself... I really enjoy it! And I think I'd like to continue doing it. I've worked damn hard to get where I am today, and I slaved over a hot PhD for three years, and I'm a bit reluctant to just throw that all away because I no longer need the pay cheque.
Unfortunately for me, I don't yet have enough experience to go and work for a larger/better/different company, regardless of how much money I might have. And I certainly don't have enough experience to set up my own company. So... it looks like I'd have to stay where I am for another year or so. But, as Mairead cunningly pointed out last night, on those mornings when it's dark and cold and wet outside and I really, really, really don't want to go into work but I have to in order to earn money to pay the bills... if I was £35 odd million richer, would I still go into work on those days?
I don't know if I would.
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It remains to be seen. The draw is in an hour and a half. If I can put down the champagne for a moment later on, I'll update this and let you know how it goes. I'm not expecting to win anything at all, but you never know!
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Topic: What would you spend the money on if you won £66 million?
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*Update* I didn't win. Boo! Hiss! Same again next week? 
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