Imagine you're a millionaire. What would you do if one of your investments, like Bitcoin or HIVE, suddenly skyrocketed in value? Would you sell it before the price drops and make millions? How would you react and feel?

Of course, I'm referring to dollars. In your local currency, things might be different. For instance, in my daily currency, the yen, I'm already a millionaire. A yearly salary for most people is expressed in millions. However, the US dollar is the global currency, and I'm specifically talking about that.

Also, I'm referring to the emotional association with the word "millionaire" rather than its actual purchasing power, which is quite low. $1 million doesn't hold the same value it once did. A century ago, a million dollars was a substantial sum of money. Back then, being a millionaire meant you were exceptionally wealthy. However, inflation has significantly eroded the purchasing power of our money, making $1 million relatively insignificant. In fact, even with a middle-class or lower middle-class job, if you have a well-managed retirement account, you likely have $1 million or more. It's not as much money as it used to be.

Despite its diminished value, the word "millionaire" still evokes a sense of immense wealth. It may not be as substantial as it once was, but the emotional connection to the word remains. That's how I'm using the word here; think of immense wealth.

That in mind, what would you do if you were a millionaire? How would you spend that money? How would you use that money?

Would you be like, say, Rockefeller? You know, Rockefeller, he was pretty much one of the richest men in modern history. Maybe THE richest man in modern history. He personally controlled an enormous part of the American economy. Standard Oil controlled roughly 90% of all oil in the US, giving him wealth estimated to be equal to 3% of the entire country's GDP. There are many estimates for his enormous fortune, the highest of them usually being placed around $400 billion in modern money, an amount that would make him the richest man alive today. However, despite his incredible wealth, Rockefeller lived a very modest lifestyle. He lived far below his means. He was incredibly disciplined and strict with himself.

He didn't live a very flamboyant lifestyle, but instead lived in a simple way. If you want a modern example, Warren Buffett would be a modern example of this same approach. Buffett is one of the richest men in the world, yet he lives a very middle class lifestyle. He lives primarily in a middle class house that he purchased many years ago. He eats at McDonald's daily, buys cheap discount clothes. He doesn't really do a whole lot with his money except keep it invested and preserve it for his family to use after he's gone. He's a very, very disciplined guy. He doesn't really use his money in bold ways. And Rockefeller was the same way. Both men, especially Rockefeller, donated a lot of their money. Rockefeller had very strong convictions that donation was required of people. He was a very religious man, and so he believed in giving back. That might be opposite the Carnegie approach. Unlike Rockefeller, who was disciplined and focused on philanthropy early in life (he started donating money from the time of his first job, as a lowly clerk at age 16), Carnegie only turned to philanthropy later—perhaps to reshape his legacy, which up to that point was a very, very nasty, wicked person. (Of course, Rockefeller reportedly had a very ruthless side as well, but it was somewhat tempered by his good side. As historian Ron Chernow said "his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad")

But anyways, I'm getting off track. The point is, would you be like Rockefeller and Buffett, living in a way that would make anyone who didn't know otherwise think you were a poor schmo just like them?

Or would you live like our image of a millionaire? Like Elon Musk, who just throws around his money? Like Jeff Bezos who collects newspapers and yachts, then forces countries to raise bridges that aren't tall enough to allow his yachts to pass under them? The classical example would be Jay Gatsby who throws lavish parties every night and wastes his money because what else is there to do with it? The kind of bold, ostentatious, flashy lifestyle that we might mainly associate with Hollywood these days. The kind of life that recalls Robin William's famous quote: "Heroin is God telling you that you have too much money". These extravagant displays—like Musk’s risky ventures or Bezos’s indulgence in mega-yachts—represent a fantasy of what unlimited wealth could buy, in stark contrast to the quiet austerity of Rockefeller and Buffett.

Me? If I did come into immense wealth, whether by inheritance or luck—one of the cryptos I buy skyrockets—or by hard work, whatever, however I did it, if I did come into immense wealth, I wouldn't tell anyone. My spouse would know, but no one else. I would not tell my kids. They would probably be able to figure out that I have money, that I'm not worried about money anymore, but I would never explicitly tell them about it.

I would probably live exactly the same as I do right now. Maybe better quality food and clothes, but still the same things at the same shops, just higher quality. I don't know if I would even buy a new house, because my house is fine and moving is a hassle, even (I imagine) if you have enough money to hire people to do it all for you.

The only thing money would do for me is it would reduce stress. I wouldn't have to worry about how to pay for my kids' education. I wouldn't have to worry about how to pay for my retirement. You know, that's what money would do for me. It would give me comfort. That's all I want and need—that would be such a huge thing!

But that's me. How about you? Please let me know in the comments.

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David is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.