By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3
What would you do if you had “stupid money”? That’s one of the questions I asked my three best friends from high school during our recent weekend reunion. At first, their answers were practical things like paying off mortgages or replacing the stove. But I cut those answers short because the question wasn’t about limited, practical money usage. The question was what you’d do if you had a “stupid” level of money — the kind of money that would make Elon Musk look like he was playing with chump change.
So then the answers changed. Because we all agreed that, if we had such an enormous amount of money, we could and would do all the important things first — like making sure anyone who needed food or health care could have it. We’d make sure disease researchers had the funding needed to find their next big breakthroughs. After all of that, I said, what would we do if we had such a stupid level of money that we’d have no chance of running out before we turned 100 years old?
One of them said she’d use some of it to have a private plane available anytime her family of five wanted to visit relatives or see the world — no delays or airport hassles necessary.
One of them said she’d want a team of professionals to do her hair and makeup whenever she wanted, thereby putting an end to bad hair days.
The third one said she’d want an interior designer to transform her home into something new and beautiful she could enjoy every day.
During my turn to answer, I said I’d like a couple of vacation homes (fully stocked with all our familiar favorites) located in different parts of the United States, which would allow us to enjoy beautiful places during their most ideal seasons of the year, without the need to live out of a suitcase in a hotel. My answer was inspired, in part, because I’d just escaped my frigid home state to meet up with these friends in sunny Florida on a 70-degree day in mid-January.
We all had fun imagining the possibilities because the essence of the question is about what would delight you. What would feel like a luxury?
My friends and I were around 11 years old when the show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” hosted by Robin Leach, began airing on TV. At the time, it was fun to see all the over-the-top luxuries I didn’t even know existed. My 11-year-old brain thought an indoor water slide was the best idea I’d ever heard. But by the time the show ended, I was a college graduate, and it felt hard to reconcile the reality that the world has so many people in genuine need of the most basic elements of life (food, water, shelter, education) while other people can spend money on things that seem excessive or frivolous.
One real-life billionaire who lives in Mumbai has a home with 27 levels, some of which are dedicated to a garage that holds his 160 cars. (He employs people whose sole job is to move those cars around and maintain them.) He also has three helicopter pads on the roof. (Was there a traffic jam with multiple helicopters needing to land at the same time?) And last but not least, his $4 billion home has a “private snow room,” where artificial snow is blown in so guests can cool off from the tropical heat. (Because that’s apparently what you do when you’re a billionaire who needs to cool down.)
Maybe you and I will never have a bank account capable of building snow rooms. But if you could ensure a world where everyone’s basic needs were met, what would you do if you could spend some stupid money?
Gwen Rockwood is a syndicated freelance columnist. Email her at gwenrockwood5@gmail.com. Her book is available on Amazon.
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