Say it was you who just won the $224 M, what would you do?

[Don Corleone]

Let's figure in Uncle Sam's cut first and foremost, because one thing I DON'T want to do with $224 million is take it to prison for tax evasion...

So, now we're down to ~$112 million. Next, my state government gets their cut, 10% or 22.4 million. So, of that $224 million, I'll probably see $89.6 million of it. No paltry sum, but still, no where near the $224 million I started with.

Likewise, I have to give the Lord his due, so I would take 10% ($22.4million) and give it to my church.

I would take $4.48M (2%) and put it into the Vanguard Index fund (invests equal shares in all 500 holdings of the S&P 500). I would take an additional 6.72M (3%) and pick 3 or 4 other national index funds and go from there.

Now I'm at 25% left. I would give 5% to my sister, 5% to my parents, give 5% to all remaining relatives 5% to charity (though, I've already given 60% to the government's charity ). I would give 4% to Nathan Emily and his family (warning, tearjerker alert... Nathan Emily's story), and the remaining 1%, well, that's for me. I think I could live large on a $2.24million slush fund. I might even take a sabbatical and get my master's full-time instead of this course a semester crap.