Sudden Wealthflow $17.2M

Written by Gerald Gauthier, United States

Saturday, 29 August 2009

After the initial excitement of winning $17.2 million dollars wears off, a conundrum arises: what could a person actually do with such a windfall?

This is the enviable lot of Lethbridge resident Don Grimard, a 21-year-old oilpatch worker who won half of a $34.5-million Lotto 649 jackpot earlier this month. Other than a prepared statement issued Friday through lottery officials, Grimard has deliberately been avoiding the media spotlight.

The Herald has been unable to reach him to pose the burning question on the collective mind of a curious public in such instances: “What do you plan to do with the money?” And so, to provide some hypothetical answers to that query, The Herald has checked into some possibilities for Grimard to consider.
An obvious temptation for those who suddenly find themselves stupendously wealthy is to indulge in the so-called high life. Almost anything is affordable; money is no longer an object. Grimard has expressed a passion for golf and an interest in travel. We’ve kept that in mind.

First off, a new home might be in order. A 3,700-square-foot manor with a five-car garage, five bedrooms, six bathrooms, an in-home theatre, an in-ground pool and lots more is available in Sandstone Ridge at the south end of the city. The asking price? A tidy $1.5 million.

Next on our list is a special set of wheels to park in one of those garages. Might we suggest an ultra rare, fully restored, 1956 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing coupe? It’s bright red and being sold by a dealer in California for US $360,000. Why not catch a flight down to take it for a test drive before buying? Make that a return flight; you can have the car delivered.

Travel plans could include a golf holiday to the world’s most expensive golf course, Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. The $500 green fee includes a limousine ride to and from the course, according to The Most Expensive Journal. It’s only open to guests of MGM Mirage Resorts, so guess where you’re staying?
Of course, playing at this golf course demands that a person swing the world’s most expensive golf clubs. Those would be a US $32,000, 14-piece set of Five Stars made by Honma, a Japanese manufacturer. Among the more well-known owners of these platinum-and-gold golf clubs are Hollywood stars Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito.

Those precious clubs ought to be carried in the most expensive golf bag in the world, a Damier Geant bag, created by French fashion designer Louis Vuitton. Featuring a zip-up hood and umbrella, this all-leather golf bag is priced at US $9,750.

Why bother renting a golf cart when you can afford to buy your own Hummer H2 golf cart and take it with you? With a price tag of $US$20,000, the electric-powered H2 is the world’s most expensive golf cart and is capable of speeds up to 32 km/h. It’s loaded with features including headlights, turn signals, brake lights, fog lights, a tinted windshield and a fold-down tailgate as well as a cooler under the hood.

In golf, as in life, it’s the little things that matter. So forget about using a cheap plastic ball marker on the green. Instead, we recommend the most expensive ball marker in the world; the TRI Marker. This item is hand-crafted from 18 karat white gold and is studded with diamonds, citrine, amethyst and peridots. The price tag: US $10,000.

If the world’s most expensive golf trip doesn’t seem to carry quite enough cachet, however, there’s always the option of buying an entire golf course. The Herald found an 18-hole, lakeside course in Northwestern Ontario for a mere US $5.8 million. Beauty Bay Golf Course is a picturesque course with three km of frontage along Black Sturgeon Lake, about 20 minutes outside of Kenora.

On the other hand, sudden wealth also presents the opportunity to generously support humanitarian causes at home and abroad. Grimard has indicated one of the first things he did after winning is to seek financial advice. So maybe a plan that balances a degree of indulgence and pampering with sustainable philanthropy is in order.

As Woody Allen once said: “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”