How would being rich change your life?

[stefan]

A while back I asked Lucie, "What would you do differently if we were worth $100 million? Lucie answered, "I would always fly in business class when we go overseas." I pointed out that she does that now, and she responded, "But sometimes I don't go with you because of the price of the ticket. I wouldn't have to worry about that if we were really rich."

So basically Lucie said that little would change. But BWEers are wine buyers. My question to us is,

"How would being worth $100 million change your wine buying?"

I'll give my answer later.

[Comte Flaneur]

I would order a case of Ch. Lafite 1988 and pay a premium if it came directly from the chateau..if they had the same from 1983 and 1978 I would be happy to oblige.

I would also buy a new Volvo V60 estate fully optioned up

I took a ride in a Sing$ 2.2 Million Rolls Royce Phantom long wheel base with my brother in Singapore recently but would rather have a Volvo because I am not into conspicuous consumption.

When travelling I would upgrade to premium economy

[JimHow]

I've told the story here several times about my cousin Donna and her husband, John Krenicki.
Donna grew up in a nice family in Connecticut, went to UConn, where she met this working class kid from New Jersey named John Krenicki.
We knew him when he was a nobody.
He got his masters at Purdue, came back to Connecticut, he took an entry level job at GE, where Jack Welch discovered him.
He proceeded to rise through the ranks over the next 20 years, all the way to CEO of GE Energy and was basically number 2 behind Jeff Immelt.
They have the mansion on Cape Cod, and the two story condominium at Madison and 28th Street, and a spectacular property on Longboat Key in Sarasota with spectacular sunsets every night.
Donna, who loved art since childhood, is on all these big museum boards, and is in the middle of this Rockwell painting controversy at the Berkshire museum.
He's with a big private equity firm in Manhattan where he has served as president of Hess Oil, Service Master, and other companies.
They've given millions away to charity, and are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet, they haven't forgotten their roots.
I was at their Sarasota estate this past Saturday night, sipping a 2006 Dom Perignon I brought by.
We had a little party with their rich Sarasota friends, all of whom were very nice and down to earth.
He was off to London the next day.
I don't know if I would need to have the biggest houses in Cape Cod and Manhattan and Sarasota, but I definitely admire how they balance the rest of their lives with otherwise pretty simple lifestyles, their kids all go to public universities, work jobs in college, and they've done a lot for charity and scientific research, like here at Purdue:

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/release ... ience.html

Good people. I've given a lot to family and different causes, my goals are more simple, I'd like to make sure my niece and nephew don't have student loans, I'd like to keep fighting for indigent legal defense services, and my next big project is to replace the human rights violation that is our local county jail.

Have fun, and just try to do my little part to make the world a little better!

And if I were super rich I'd buy more Pichon Baron and Lafite.

[DavidG]

We'd have a place on the water on the Florida Gulf Coast and one in California wine country and split the winter months there. Plus more travel to Europe: Paris, London, Geneva, south of France plus explore some new places.

Wine purchases would be a small part in comparison to the above. A case or two each of 82 Mouton and Latour, 88 and 89 Yquem, 89 Haut Brion and 90 Margaux since tbese are among my favorites and likely to be found with good provenance.

[Racer Chris]

Early retirement would be the first change.

Second, I think my wife and I would rent multiple homes/apartments rather than own a single property if we had $100 mil in the bank.
Maybe even someplace abroad.
That would facilitate our enjoyment of exploring various parts of the world.

Side benefits: I would have others feed me more often, and I would drink better wine.

[jal]

No changes.
In the words of Joseph Heller: "I have enough"

[jckba]

Immediate retirement and then plenty of options but I would likely invest it and live comfortably off the dividends

[Michael-P]

Fancy wine cellars at our various homes with more expensive wines, 1st Growths, cult Napa and Italy. More at drinking peak. Dinner parties (4 to 10 people) with family and friends. Private chef. Donations, non-profit work, US and international travel with our own jet(s). Travel with family and friends (our larger jet). Multiple homes (none very large but all top of the line design and furnishings) - London, Paris, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago. Travel between them on our private jet. Lots of collector cars and full time mechanics dedicated to keep them ready for us.

[Nicklasss]

If I would got 100 M$ tomorrow, I would go back to school. I'm a chemist but I have a strong love for geography and urbanism, so I would do one 6 months session in a different university each half year. A session in Sydney, one in Tokyo, one in Buenos Aires, one in Chicago, one in Milano, one in Singapour, one in Stockholm, one in Vancouver... even if I don't speak the local language... always courses related to geography or urbanism.

For the wines, I'll keep it secret as I know SdR will read and i know what can happen when I pass by Florida! But I'm not sure I would change a lot, maybe have delivered one bottle of Grand-Puy Lacoste monthly, to JimHow. And also visit each individual BWEers in their area to enjoy a 1993 Chateau Batailley together!

Nic

[AKR]

I would love to have my own real Jurassic Park, although maybe 100mm isn't enough to build that.



And unlike everyone else who runs Jurassic Park, I'd follow my kids instructions.

"Daddy, why do they always forget to lock the T Rex's cage?"

Maybe I'd just have to settle for cloning our last dog.

[robert goulet]

Def consuming more expensive daily drinkers
Def. doing alot of work with charity
Def. spending alot of time in France
Def. living beach front
Def. doing organized scenic mountain biking trips
Def. road cycling atop a topline Trek Madone
Def. traveling following some of my favorite bands
Def. alot of chef sponsered wine dinners
Def. lots more Sushi consumption and wood burning oven baked Napolitano pizza
Def. a private box for favorite sporting events/teams
Def. a yacht

This is just the start

[Blanquito]

If I were rich enough, I'd ty to emulate Elon Musk or those guys who created that enormous park in Patagonia --https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/worl ... chile.html -- to make the world a better place.

But that would take billions. If "only" $100 million, I'd go half time at work to continue to my research (but I'd fund my projects directly, no more chasing ever-shrinking NSF dollars) and to have lots of time for the kids and for travel, and my wife would fully quit work.

On the wine side of things, I'd try (in vain, but I'd try nevertheless) to become the Stuart of the Rockies with such a legendary cellar and generosity that people would come to Denver first to drink wine.

[stefan]

My answer is pretty much the same as Jacques'. A year ago I would have said that I would try less hard to get the best price on a wine I wanted, but in fact I did just that this past year when Lucie and I spent five months in Berkeley and I needed mature wine for our time there.

Lucie and I think of buying a place near one of our kids to live in part of the year. That would provide me an excuse to buy wine to occupy our new cellar, but the kinds of wines I would purchase would not change. Being rich would make buying the home easier and even allow us to have one near each of our children, but the hassle of dealing with three homes turns us off. The prospect of dealing with just two gives us pause.

[Comte Flaneur]

I would buy and drink more of these

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GDKmahhPBT7hFX1i2

[JimHow]

We used to be able to buy those at the New Hampshire Liquor Store for like $180.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I can explain why I sometimes play and would prefer to win the $4 million "Lotto" rater than the $400 million "Mega Millions," although in theory what you (or I should say I) do if you won either is about the same. But to stick to the point: as for wine buying, I don't think I'd change much as far as the ordinary course goes but would sample one-offs of a few expensive wines for sure. As for the lifestyle, the number one problem I have fulfilling my desired personal lifestyle would be to have a high endurance private jet so I could take my dogs with me twice a year between Colorado and Hawaii. Pretty much that's the impediment I have right now, leaving my dogs in one place for six months a year isn't an option and flying them commercial would seem too traumatic for the old guys. Other than that Kathy and I are involved (in a manner like to the pig's involvement in bacon more so than a hen's involvement in eggs) in an animal sanctuary/welfare organization here and a couple of million would be transformative for the mission.

And yes, we welcome walk-on volunteers, but if you can't spare the time we'll accept donations in lieu of.

[NoahR]

Honestly, this would change me quite a bit, but with regards to wine, I can picture what I would do. You can really buy anything you want with enough money and a few connections. I would love to sample some Unicorns as well as some legends (I’m not chasing the ‘47 Cheval Blanc, here. Real stuff: 82, 89, 90 firsts, maybe a bottle of Petrus, some Roumier, Gentaz, Jayer...), just to see what I really like enough to seek out. Then I’d buy shit-tons of it...

I would also probably fly all my friends out to Berns for a birthday party.

[AKR]

I can explain why I sometimes play and would prefer to win the $4 million "Lotto" rater than the $400 million "Mega Millions," although in theory what you (or I should say I) do if you won either is about the same. But to stick to the point: as for wine buying, I don't think I'd change much as far as the ordinary course goes but would sample one-offs of a few expensive wines for sure. As for the lifestyle, the number one problem I have fulfilling my desired personal lifestyle would be to have a high endurance private jet so I could take my dogs with me twice a year between Colorado and Hawaii. Pretty much that's the impediment I have right now, leaving my dogs in one place for six months a year isn't an option and flying them commercial would seem too traumatic for the old guys. Other than that Kathy and I are involved (in a manner like to the pig's involvement in bacon more so than a hen's involvement in eggs) in an animal sanctuary/welfare organization here and a couple of million would be transformative for the mission.

And yes, we welcome walk-on volunteers, but if you can't spare the time we'll accept donations in lieu of.

HS - You'll appreciate this one - we were in Sun Valley a while ago and someone in the gondola noticed a Vermont sticker on my helmet and inquired. Apparently these folks used to drive between Sun Valley and New England a couple times a year, because their dogs didn't care for the commercial flight experience. They did that for a dozen years, before just giving up and moving to Ketchum. Once I had to get my uncle's pet from North Carolina to Texas, and we had to get a specialty company to do it. They basically filled up an RV with all oddball pets, and drove around the country delivering them non stop. I remember the cost was staggeringly expensive but the service level was high.

[Antoine]

It would not ...

Just joking...

[Mintonly]

wanted to have business and keep my family in good terms such as giving them good education and a comfortable home and transportation car living simple of course an early retirement for and be the boss of own business LOL just wanted to really wish i can

[SF Ed]

I'd buy more Burgundy, especially from Roumier and Mugnier.
I'd fly business class internationally (now I high roll by buying exit row seats in Economy).
I'd buy a vacation home on the beach in Uruguay (where I am right now).
I'd take more/larger investment positions in early stage tech companies (where I already angel invest).

But mostly my life would be the same. I like my flat in SF. I like my life.

SF Ed

[stefan]

International Business Class is expensive but, IMO, is not overpriced in comparison to coach. One gets three times the space and the seats and service are certainly much more than three times better than in the cattle car. Ed, in your opinion, do Roumier and Mugnier have comparable value?

[SF Ed]

It simply isn't worth $2000+ to me to fly business class. I don't care about service or width of seat. I just need space between me and the seat in front of me because of my height. If I have an emergency exit or bulkhead, I'm good.

On Roumier and Mugnier, it depends on the cuvee. I want their Chambolle village for $50 and key premiers (e.g. Roumier Les Cras and Mugnier Les Fuees) for $100. And Roumier Bonnes Mares for $200. Just like the good old days. With $100M, I could more easily ignore the current pricing

SF Ed

[dstgolf]

Wouldn't change much because we have a pretty decent life. Would still work a few more years because I enjoy what I do and like being inside the medical system helping people and especially friends/family negociate the system expediting care when able. Concerned that once I retire the privileges that I currently enjoy would be lost and who would help me expedite my care!!

With a 100mill$ I'd love to have a beachfront house/condo in Sarasota/Jupiter to satisfy Danielle's love of the water/beach walks/sunsets/sunrises etc with a helicopter to get to a decent golf course and avoid crazy traffic getting to and from the beach. It's not practical anymore to think beachfront now and drive to a decent golf coarse as its gridlock to and from the beach!! Nice to dream.

[Comte Flaneur]

From the other side of the coin, averting financial stress, or, the assurance of having reasonable financial security for you and your loved ones, is surely a better prize than having an obscene amount of wealth, which brings with it a whole new set of problems which can lead to paranoia and even misery...

[Comte Flaneur]

...on the other hand I wouldn’t mind one of these

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lamborghin ... pictures#5

[stefan]

Ed, at the old prices I also would be buying Roumier and Mugnier. Now Roumier Les Cras 2015 goes for around $500 and Mugnier Les Fuees 2015 for $325+. This is beyond their worth to me, but business class is not because of the troubles I have had in the last 16 years when I did not fly BC. What surprises me is that there are enough people willing to pay high prices for Roumier, Mugnier, etc. that the prices have skyrocketed.