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If you were the richest person in the world…

51 replies

Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 20:14

What would you do?

Wouldn’t you want to help people- do stuff like get hospitals named after you and statues built in your honour after your life changing donations, as opposed to you know, arguing with people you don’t know on the internet?

I mean you could literally revolutionise society or start one even.

OP posts:
Pedallleur · 07/01/2025 20:50

Entire nations could do that. USA, Saudi (think Fossil fuel) plus others. They choose not to. So why would Elon Musk? Altho curing eg cancer would be a monument to someone who could fund it.

blacksax · 07/01/2025 20:56

I think I'd probably manipulate world leaders into doing what I wanted them to do.

Timeforaglassofwine · 07/01/2025 21:00

Well I wouldn't be challenging Jonny Depp to a cage fight - remember that little gem a few years ago!?
Without being pious, I think being the richest man in the world is a moral failure rather than an accomplishment. It means he has taken too much at the great detriment of others.

Ineedtogetoutmorereally · 07/01/2025 21:06

I'd do three things as a start

  1. I'd buy lots of plots of land in and around small towns and villages where they were being threatened with development, overpopulation and no additional infrastructure and do something to stop the land being developed like divide into millions of tiny plots and give them away so it would be too difficult and cost prohibitive to track down the owners.
  2. I'd build a state of the art hospital with A&E that was in central England somewherehe (most accessible to the most people) that was huge and had a private A&E side as well as a 'free to the public' side.
  3. I'd pay to finish HS2 to the north and to Euston build some sort of effective public transport to link E to W - whether a motorway that goes straight into Norfolk with a high speed bus lane or a High speed train line. I genuinely believe linking these areas with better transport will improve the economy

then I would finance a film and cast all my favorite people that I wanted to meet in it at a salary they couldn't refuse!

Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 21:08

Pedallleur · 07/01/2025 20:50

Entire nations could do that. USA, Saudi (think Fossil fuel) plus others. They choose not to. So why would Elon Musk? Altho curing eg cancer would be a monument to someone who could fund it.

Edited

So what would you do as an individual?

OP posts:
Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 21:08

blacksax · 07/01/2025 20:56

I think I'd probably manipulate world leaders into doing what I wanted them to do.

What would that be?

OP posts:
Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 21:09

Timeforaglassofwine · 07/01/2025 21:00

Well I wouldn't be challenging Jonny Depp to a cage fight - remember that little gem a few years ago!?
Without being pious, I think being the richest man in the world is a moral failure rather than an accomplishment. It means he has taken too much at the great detriment of others.

Yeah you have to love money over everything, but imagine you have some sort of epiphany and could use it well!
didn’t know about the cage fight thing, brilliant!!

OP posts:
JaninaDuszejko · 07/01/2025 21:15

The richest person in the world is richer than more than half the countries in the world including Iceland and New Zealand.

If you were the richest person in the world…
Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 21:15

Ineedtogetoutmorereally · 07/01/2025 21:06

I'd do three things as a start

  1. I'd buy lots of plots of land in and around small towns and villages where they were being threatened with development, overpopulation and no additional infrastructure and do something to stop the land being developed like divide into millions of tiny plots and give them away so it would be too difficult and cost prohibitive to track down the owners.
  2. I'd build a state of the art hospital with A&E that was in central England somewherehe (most accessible to the most people) that was huge and had a private A&E side as well as a 'free to the public' side.
  3. I'd pay to finish HS2 to the north and to Euston build some sort of effective public transport to link E to W - whether a motorway that goes straight into Norfolk with a high speed bus lane or a High speed train line. I genuinely believe linking these areas with better transport will improve the economy

then I would finance a film and cast all my favorite people that I wanted to meet in it at a salary they couldn't refuse!

Ha very specific ideas I love it. A better road to Norfolk would be great. And to south wales please.

I would want to increase support for deprived families - not just money but a way to help them have a great time together - money and fun through well funded community centres and family workers. Do more for adult education and work opportunities, value unpaid carers in some way. Haven’t quite thought through the specifics though.

I would try and influence the leaders away from social media (ha)

OP posts:
Supersoakers · 07/01/2025 21:16

JaninaDuszejko · 07/01/2025 21:15

The richest person in the world is richer than more than half the countries in the world including Iceland and New Zealand.

Is that the total gdp of them altogether?

OP posts:
JaninaDuszejko · 07/01/2025 21:26

No, each of those countries individually have a lower GDP than $195B. Still insane, Iceland and NZ don't have high populations but they are rich countries.

letsallchant · 07/01/2025 21:27

Snap! To secure your name in history, you could eliminate poverty and or disease. Do absolutely revolutionary things. People would name schools, public buildings, their children after you, around the globe. You'd be in the history books as the greatest ever public benefactor.

But then again, you could just spend all day posting on social media like a dog with a bone.

Kenway · 07/01/2025 21:27

If I had the means, then I'd have a secret service of scientists , military personnel etc that were focusing on developing spacecraft and faster than light travel, wormhole drive tech etc to then make it possible for humans to expand to other planets and begin colonization of other galaxies

coxesorangepippin · 07/01/2025 21:33

Universal free healthcare and education, from birth till death

Housing also

I'd operate a lot like Norway

Get rid of the class system (but no doubt a new one would develop)

LaDeeDaDeeDa · 07/01/2025 21:34

I would bugger off to the moon.

Summerdew · 07/01/2025 21:40

I’d convert old mills in the deprived areas of Yorkshire into centres for teens to go to where they can hang out in a safe environment, with sports room, careers advice, comfy sofas etc. A place where they can just be or where they can go and learn new things. I’d also build adult parks, so putting in adult sized slides and swings that everyone can go on.

Dismaljanuary · 07/01/2025 21:56

I love the idea of a hospital accessible to all and state of the art.

My focus would be on mouldy homes rentals, lobbying to make councils and private renters clean up their act.

I'd also lobby to make grim areas more attractive, living in grim tough circumstances in a miserable place creates a self perpetuating cycle.

Murals on ugly buildings, plants flowers, beautiful things in really stark nasty areas.

Sen and dragging our education system out of the dark ages in this area would be another Misson. With even the smallest tweaks we can make a huge difference to society as a whole.
Eg having many different reading schemes available to the children who all learn to read in different ways but are forced to do phonics and a phonics test?

With global reach yes I'd like to do something about the taliban and general repression of women and girls globally.
But I couldn't see how to do that without tackling segregation.

I'd like to get a crack team together of doctors, biologists, pyscologists and everyone necessary to understand why some men are attracted to children and why men want to rape and what can be done to prevent it. What can be done to punish them.

Finally I'd get a crack team of mental health people and support for children in school in the primary years to help with behavior issues and train schools in techniques.

Dismaljanuary · 07/01/2025 21:58

@Summerdew love adult parks, many have training equipment in now which is good.. Yes to more for teens to do, I'm going to steal that idea and make sure every area has fun things for teens to do

anythingbutlillies · 07/01/2025 22:01

I still wouldn't have a private reg

namechangedforthisquestion1 · 07/01/2025 22:07

Ineedtogetoutmorereally · 07/01/2025 21:06

I'd do three things as a start

  1. I'd buy lots of plots of land in and around small towns and villages where they were being threatened with development, overpopulation and no additional infrastructure and do something to stop the land being developed like divide into millions of tiny plots and give them away so it would be too difficult and cost prohibitive to track down the owners.
  2. I'd build a state of the art hospital with A&E that was in central England somewherehe (most accessible to the most people) that was huge and had a private A&E side as well as a 'free to the public' side.
  3. I'd pay to finish HS2 to the north and to Euston build some sort of effective public transport to link E to W - whether a motorway that goes straight into Norfolk with a high speed bus lane or a High speed train line. I genuinely believe linking these areas with better transport will improve the economy

then I would finance a film and cast all my favorite people that I wanted to meet in it at a salary they couldn't refuse!

HS2!!! Fucksake I hope you don't win the lottery Grin

ssd · 07/01/2025 22:10

My dad always said you dont get rich by being nice to people

Dotto · 07/01/2025 22:12

namechangedforthisquestion1 · 07/01/2025 22:07

HS2!!! Fucksake I hope you don't win the lottery Grin

Yeah, these wants are all batshit. There are over 20,000 local people on our housing register, needing affordable and decent new homes built. Nimbyism will get overruled.

jollygreenpea · 07/01/2025 22:13

Kenway · 07/01/2025 21:27

If I had the means, then I'd have a secret service of scientists , military personnel etc that were focusing on developing spacecraft and faster than light travel, wormhole drive tech etc to then make it possible for humans to expand to other planets and begin colonization of other galaxies

Don't you think we should learn to look after the planet we have first before going and messing others up?

Dismaljanuary

I'd like to get a crack team together of doctors, biologists, pyscologists and everyone necessary to understand why some men are attracted to children and why men want to rape and what can be done to prevent it. What can be done to punish them.

A lethal injection perhaps?

BewitchedBotheredandBewildered · 07/01/2025 22:15

I'd keep very, very quiet.

Kenway · 07/01/2025 22:23

jollygreenpea · 07/01/2025 22:13

Don't you think we should learn to look after the planet we have first before going and messing others up?

Dismaljanuary

I'd like to get a crack team together of doctors, biologists, pyscologists and everyone necessary to understand why some men are attracted to children and why men want to rape and what can be done to prevent it. What can be done to punish them.

A lethal injection perhaps?

I see your point, but depending on the civilisations already in other galaxies then we need to spread out humans across the galaxies