4 ms·

If you had $5M, you could buy 87719 shares of Wells Fargo at market rates. Those would yield .38 per share quarterly or $133,333 annually. You'd likely get annu

If you had $5M, you could buy 87719 shares of Wells Fargo at market rates. Those would yield .38 per share quarterly or $133,333 annually. You'd likely get annual dividend increases and wind up with around $13M if you compounded at a rate of 5% for 20 years. That assumes no dividend reinvestments--and 5% is conservative. It could be as high as 10%. In that case you'd have over $33M at the end. Sure, you'd want to diversify, but I'm just making the case that it's more than enough to live off of for the rest of your life. You could also buy 4 or 5 McDonalds restaurants or 20-25 houses and watch them appreciate while living off rental income.

gambiting 10y ago
Sure, but that's super ultra boring, and it doesn't improve your life in any way right this second. But...you could go and buy yourself that $1M house in a nice area. And a nice car for you and your partner. And mum's house needs fixing, we can do full remodeling. A friend has a business idea, let's chuck some money his way. Or better yet, let's invest some of that money into a cupcake business you always wanted to open. Then poof, 2 years later that money is all gone. Like, I seriously doubt that my first thought after winning the lottery would be to go and talk to an investment banker.
- hood_syntax 10y ago
  I would talk to a lawyer. And then get my investments set up, and then spend the rest on whatever I wanted.
- Already__Taken 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure when you win the lottery they make you sit down and talk with an investment banker...
- hnal943 10y ago
  You would be a fool not to talk to an investment banker, and many fools go broke after winning the lottery for behaving just as you describe.
kagamine 10y ago
My neighbor owns and runs a McDonald's franchise and that man is drowning in debt and working himself to death. I honestly would not recommend it.
- johnwheeler 10y ago
  I don't know your neighbors case, but there are plenty of wealthy McDonalds franchise owners. I got this off Google just now (from McDonalds) An average McDonald's franchise makes between $500,000 and $1 million in profits per year as of 2013, according to McDonald's Franchise Disclosure Document. For restaurants open at least 1 year in the United States, average total revenues are $2.6 million.
  - kagamine 10y ago
    Neighbor does not live in the US but in a country with strict employment law and higher operating costs. I don't know the details of how a McDonalds franchise works, I have only eaten in one twice in >40 years alive, the last time being 25 years ago, but I imagine a fairly large chunk of those profits go to the MCD HQ, some go toward paying off the loan required to buy into the franchise which is personal debt not McDs debt, and by the looks of my neighbor some goes toward the staff eating the stock. I have no doubt fast food places make money, they are everywhere, but the hours are terrible and the lifestyle sucks.
  - greedo 10y ago
    Sorry, it took me a moment to stop laughing. Revenue is not profit for starters, and "profit" can be defined in so many ways. A more accurate representation for a franchisee is "total operating income" which is usually between 5-10% of net sales. This is what the owner/operator takes home before taxes. With net sales averaging $2.7m, that take home is usually around $150K. Definitely not peanuts, but considering the cost of a franchise and the amount of work involved, not living high on the hog.
    - johnwheeler 10y ago
      The statement off the McDonalds website doesn't imply revenue = profit. There are a variety of net margins that differ by industry, and I wouldn't be surprised if the net income (what you call "take home pay") would be $150K. The franchising royalties would be deducted before that net income. $150,000K * 5 is enough to live "high on the hog", especially since you wouldn't have to save it given you own 5 McDonalds you could sell, probably for a large profit down the line too.
jetti 10y ago
>You could also buy 4 or 5 McDonalds restaurants or 20-25 houses and watch them appreciate while living off rental income. Even better would be the Chick-fil-a. They only cost 4K to start and it will give you something to do for 3 years while they put you through training and you work at various locations. It is a lot cheaper than other franchises but could pay out close to as much.
walshemj 10y ago
You could safely take say 3% 150k and leave the rest invested in a tax efficient way which would grow.

gambiting 10y ago

Sure, but that's super ultra boring, and it doesn't improve your life in any way right this second. But...you could go and buy yourself that $1M house in a nice area. And a nice car for you and your partner. And mum's house needs fixing, we can do full remodeling. A friend has a business idea, let's chuck some money his way. Or better yet, let's invest some of that money into a cupcake business you always wanted to open. Then poof, 2 years later that money is all gone. Like, I seriously doubt that my first thought after winning the lottery would be to go and talk to an investment banker.

hood_syntax 10y ago
I would talk to a lawyer. And then get my investments set up, and then spend the rest on whatever I wanted.
Already__Taken 10y ago
I'm pretty sure when you win the lottery they make you sit down and talk with an investment banker...
hnal943 10y ago
You would be a fool not to talk to an investment banker, and many fools go broke after winning the lottery for behaving just as you describe.

kagamine 10y ago

My neighbor owns and runs a McDonald's franchise and that man is drowning in debt and working himself to death. I honestly would not recommend it.

johnwheeler 10y ago
I don't know your neighbors case, but there are plenty of wealthy McDonalds franchise owners. I got this off Google just now (from McDonalds) An average McDonald's franchise makes between $500,000 and $1 million in profits per year as of 2013, according to McDonald's Franchise Disclosure Document. For restaurants open at least 1 year in the United States, average total revenues are $2.6 million.
- kagamine 10y ago
  Neighbor does not live in the US but in a country with strict employment law and higher operating costs. I don't know the details of how a McDonalds franchise works, I have only eaten in one twice in >40 years alive, the last time being 25 years ago, but I imagine a fairly large chunk of those profits go to the MCD HQ, some go toward paying off the loan required to buy into the franchise which is personal debt not McDs debt, and by the looks of my neighbor some goes toward the staff eating the stock. I have no doubt fast food places make money, they are everywhere, but the hours are terrible and the lifestyle sucks.
- greedo 10y ago
  Sorry, it took me a moment to stop laughing. Revenue is not profit for starters, and "profit" can be defined in so many ways. A more accurate representation for a franchisee is "total operating income" which is usually between 5-10% of net sales. This is what the owner/operator takes home before taxes. With net sales averaging $2.7m, that take home is usually around $150K. Definitely not peanuts, but considering the cost of a franchise and the amount of work involved, not living high on the hog.
  - johnwheeler 10y ago
    The statement off the McDonalds website doesn't imply revenue = profit. There are a variety of net margins that differ by industry, and I wouldn't be surprised if the net income (what you call "take home pay") would be $150K. The franchising royalties would be deducted before that net income. $150,000K * 5 is enough to live "high on the hog", especially since you wouldn't have to save it given you own 5 McDonalds you could sell, probably for a large profit down the line too.

jetti 10y ago

>You could also buy 4 or 5 McDonalds restaurants or 20-25 houses and watch them appreciate while living off rental income. Even better would be the Chick-fil-a. They only cost 4K to start and it will give you something to do for 3 years while they put you through training and you work at various locations. It is a lot cheaper than other franchises but could pay out close to as much.

walshemj 10y ago

You could safely take say 3% 150k and leave the rest invested in a tax efficient way which would grow.