The largest Powerball jackpot in history climbed to $1.6 billion — that’s BILLION — before three winning tickets produced the magic numbers recently, in California, Tennessee and Florida. Each winner will walk away with more than $330 million after taxes. In an instant lives are changed, bank accounts will soar, wildest dreams will be realized and, undoubtedly, problems will arise. One couple sharing a winning ticket, from Tennessee, has come forward, but the other two winners remain in hiding, no doubt getting their financial affairs in order before claiming more money than they could ever imagine. So we’ve asked MBU Timeline writers to blog about what they would do with that kind of money, this unimaginable wealth that has us all pondering, wishing … perhaps hoping. And we have also sent reporters out across campus to ask faculty, staff and students the same question: What would you do with all that money?
Photo by Rebekah Rutledge
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What our bloggers said
By ASHLEY VANCAMP
If I won the $1.6 billion lottery, I would travel all over the world with my family.
But also I would travel to go on mission trips to countries in need and try and help out.
Other than traveling, I would save that money for the future.
For instance, I always think about my future kids and how much college will be then, so I would definitely start a savings account for that.
I have always wanted to adopt a kid in the U.S. so with the money I could try and adopt.
After hearing the percentage of lottery winners who get murdered afterward, I would probably hire a bodyguard.
Just in case, and I would probably move somewhere else as well.
I could use some of the money for a new house in New Town, a small community located in St. Charles, with Florida style homes.
I honestly would not know what to do with all that money other than to save.
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By MEGAN DILL
If I won the billion dollar lottery, I would give most of the money to charities of my choice.
I would then use the rest of the money to pay off all of my school loans and then travel all over Europe for a couple years.
I have always wanted to travel Europe yet lacked time and money.
If I had money left over, I would save it for my future family because that is very important.
However, I have always been really stingy with my money so I might not even do any of these things and just store my money away.
Except I would still give to a couple charities because I believe it is very important to give in that way.
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By EDUARDO MAIA
If I won the $1.6 billion lottery, I would donate most of this money to charities around the world, travel around the world, create my own soccer team in Brazil, invest in some international companies and allow my parents to quit their jobs and retire earlier.
To finish, I would save a considerable amount of this money to give to my children in the future.
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By SEBASTIAN MUNOZ
If I won the billion dollar lottery, I would ask for wisdom from God.
According to an article from The New York Daily News 70 percent of lottery winners end up broke within seven years.
What I would do with a billion dollars would be to invest in properties, restaurants, hotels, etc.
I would do this in order to be prepared for the future.
I would also use a considerable amount of that money for charity work; focusing on world hunger, sex trafficking and education in developing countries.
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By ABIGAIL SCANIO
If I were to win a billion dollars, a large sum would be spent on funding as many children as possible.
Their expenses for classes, book expenses, food and other supplies such as soaps and clean water could be taken care of.
Traveling to visit the individual students supported would be the icing on the metaphorical cake.
How priceless would it be to use a monetary sum to accomplish something monumental as helping a fellow student to create a future they might only dream of?
I would invite friends to join me in other expeditions to see any sights they wanted, creating a website chock full of photos taken on all these endeavors.
For my family, I would love to purchase new vehicles for them to enjoy along with any home renovations and beach vacation.
The rest of the money I would save for future uses.
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By AMANDA MONKE
Winning the lottery is more horror than dream.
Last week I heard that 60 percent of winners blow their money within five years.
An even darker side to that statistic? Thirty percent are murdered for their money.
So — although I did not enter — if I won, I would distribute the money to my school, family, church and city as quickly as possible.
Then again, I might keep a small percent.
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By MATT WILLIAMS
Upon winning the $1.6 billion lottery, I would create a revolutionary new hospital.
The goal of this hospital would be to blend western medicine with functional medicine. This approach could potentially fight, prevent and ultimately cure cancer, alongside other relatable diseases.
In my life I have been personally impacted by western medicine and functional medicine. These two forms of medicine are wickedly successful individually.By blending the traditional practice and research of western medicine, with the basic ideas and practices of the new natural approach, our doctors will be able to openly provide the world’s first cancer treatment featuring a holistic approach.
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By JANAE BOYKIN
If I won the $1.6 billion lottery I would not touch the money until I’ve planned exactly what I want to do with it.
The average lottery winner buys 4.5 new cars for either themselves or friends and family.
I would not want to make these type of purchases.
I would give back to my church and help my mom get a new house in a nice area.
I would also move to a nice area close to my mom.
I would help my sister go to the school she desires.
I would also donate to people who have cancer. Finally I would save the rest of the money for future plans.
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By MADISON MABREY
If I won the $1.6 billion lottery, I would be in shock.
Once the initial shock goes away, I would hire a lawyer then sit down to figure out what I would do with all of that money, while keeping my winnings a secret from the rest of the public for as long as possible.
A few ideas that come to mind are paying off my student loans, helping my parents pay off any debt and then some, donate to the Make a Wish Foundation, give my two sisters money, invest wisely, buy myself a new car and a house, travel as much as possible and give back to my community.
I would also like to save for my future family so that I wouldn’t have to stress about finances ever again.
The idea of winning that amount of money is a little scary!
I would probably be so overwhelmed I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.
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By KAILEN ROBINSON
If I won a billion dollars I would move my whole family to a nice island where I can raise my son in a safe place and can feel comfortable when my son walks out the door and not have to worry as much.
I would also help out a lot of the homeless and donate to a lot of people in need of money, food and shelter.
I would also invest in a lot of different things so that my money could grow.
I would also buy a sports team and donate tickets for kids who have never been to a game.
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By RACE MUNGER
Winning one billion dollars would set me up for life. I would first attend to shelter, clothing and food.
By placing just enough money in the bank, I could live well.
Once these needs were taken care of I might take time to think about who to help with the rest of the earnings.
All I want is enough for a life without worry.
Millions of people buy lottery tickets and never win.
The best thing I can think of is to give to those who invested for years over their lifespan but it never paid off.
Those people who hoped they would one day win the lottery might have their lucky day at last.
I would search for the people who spent the most on the lottery.
One morning, flipping through their bills and junk mail, a letter from a mysterious sender would catch their eye.
Upon opening this, they would find a check for one million dollars.
The rest is up to them.
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By CEDRIC ROYSTON
If I were to win a billion dollars in the Powerball I would give money to my family.
I would buy the Rams back.
I would give a lot of money to charity and adopt some kids from different foreign countries. I would travel the world and go to the all the best restaurants.
Donate to a foundation, or make my own.
Get a personal chef and eat lots of good food.
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By MICHAEL AYLOR
If I were to win the $1.6 billion lottery, I would first pay off my immediate family’s bills and buy my parents a new house.
Next, I would likely consider a few different charities and organizations to give to.
With this money I’d like to pay off my bachelor’s degree and potentially consider a graduate degree.
I would love to move to a new city, preferably one with a thriving professional and collegiate sports atmosphere.
I would like to have two houses, one in a tropical location and one in a city with a change of seasons.
I would likely consider buying a few of my favorite cars and start a collection with my father and brother.
I’d really like to travel the world and study different cultures and historical places of the Bible.
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By EMILY MORTON
If I were to win $1.6 billion in the lottery, I would pay off my college loans and the rest of my school bills.
I would finish college and then travel the world.
I love to travel and there are places all over the world that I would like to see.
I would also open several orphanages around the world.
The orphanages would be staffed with people who are passionate about helping the children so they would be loved and cared for properly until they are adopted.
I would work with missions globally and in the United States and I would give a portion of the money I make to the different organizations I would choose to support.
I would try to work with public relations in regards to missions because I would want to work and have a job doing something I am passionate about.
Lastly, in addition to saving, I would also buy myself a house on the beach in Charleston, S.C., where I could live with my family when I wasn’t traveling.
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By LEXI EERNISSE
I honestly can’t fathom winning that much money, so it’s hard to say what I would do with it. But I know the first thing I would do is help my mom with all of her medical bills along with any other debts.
Then, I would buy her a car or whatever else she wanted. Also, I would pay off my school debt, and then invest, or put some of the money away so I wouldn’t be tempted to spend it.
I would also donate a portion to local charities, both for children and animals.
But other than that, I have no idea. Winning that much money is exciting, but at the same time terrifying.
What others at MBU said
LOGAN JAGGIE
junior exercise science major
O’Fallon, Mo.
“I would buy myself a private island and live by myself away from civilization and I’d pay for college and donate some to charity to seem nice.”
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DENISE McCANDREW
sophomore biology major
Nashville, Ill.
“I’d probably pay off my loans, buy my mom a nice house, I’d own 14 cars that I don’t know how to drive.”
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COLLIN TROWER
junior sport management major
Wildwood, Mo.
“If I won Powerball I would get my own place, build an indoor basketball court and get buckets each and every day.”
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ELIZABETH BUSEKRUS
Writing Lab coordinator
“I’m gonna be kind of cheesy and say I would donate a lot of it and invest some of it. There is also this dream of mine to start a non-profit. So, I would use some of that to start a non-profit.”
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JOSH EATON
junior journalism major
O’Fallon, Mo.
“First off I would buy a house, a couple cars and a lot of guitar gear. Then, that would still leave me with like a billion dollars … I would put a lot away in funds for like the next eight generations; they would be loaded for life. I’d probably try to start a company. I’d do a non-profit because I have all the profits I need; probably something with missions.”
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NATE HARRIS
communication studies major
Blue Springs, Mo.
“I would of course pay off college stuff and then make sure my brother would be able to pay off college as well, and then I would certainly help my church pay off whatever needed to be payed off and then would probably donate money to this school for helping get an education. And once all my family’s bills were paid I’d help any of my friends who might still need assistance and then I will with the remaining money buy a sports team because Snapchat ESPN did a story that showed if I won the lottery I could buy the KC Royals. If I had anything left over I’d hold it in a safe because I am really content with the way my life is now. But to be honest I would hate to win the lottery. I would be miserable.”
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LYDIA MILAN
senior broadcast media major
Troy, Mo.
“If I ever won the Powerball I would pay off my students loans, pay off my car, pay my car insurance. I would pay for my little brother’s hospital expenses. Buy my mom a new house wherever she wanted it. I would help my brothers pay for school. I would donate the money to charities that I know would spend the money wisely. I would save the money and write in my will that the money would be given to close family and random people whom I would choose to support.”
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DR. R. ALTON LACEY
president of MBU
“I’d pay off my kids’ student loans. That’s one of the first things I would do, so they wouldn’t have student debt. … One of the things I would like to do is create a foundation that would support things that I’m interested in and that I could support other groups of people who were doing really good things that also fit in with my interests. And I said I would also like to do some silly stuff like buy a new car … whatever, you know. It’s hard to imagine having that much money, but, so I would probably do things that I’ve always wanted to do and couldn’t, because I couldn’t afford it.”
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NATHANIEL BERGSTROM
lead administrative assistant for Undergraduate Admissions
St. Louis
“Oh man. I would pay off my student loans. That’s not very fun.”
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BENJAMIN MARCHANT
junior biochemistry major
St. Louis
“Since I work with the homeless downtown with an organization called Churches on The Streets, I would find a way to open up a shelter that would provide opportunities for them to learn, to grow, to have protection for them, their children, their families, and not in a shady way. There’s some places downtown that can house the homeless but there’s not good upkeep. They’re not well taken care of. They don’t have much protection. They’re subjected to a lot of violence, sometimes even rape. That’s where I would spend the money.”
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ASHLEIGH POTEETE
junior human services and psychology major
St. Peters, Mo.
“I would pay off my debt from MoBap and my loans. Then I would travel to the Disneyland in Paris and save all of the rest.”
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SHANNON ALLEY
senior sports management major
O’Fallon, Mo.
“I would finish school but then travel the United States and go to all of the national parks. Then I would go see the wonders of the world.”
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ALLY HAYES
freshman, public relations major
Austin, Texas
“I would pay off my parents’ debt, or my family’s debt, and then I would buy my parents a house in the country, buy land for my church, stuff like that.”
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VALAREE LOGAN
junior, psychology major
Atlanta
“I would first give money to my church, and then I would pay off my student loans and all of my schooling that I have to do for the rest of my life.”
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JOHN NASH
public safety officer
St. Louis
“Well, I would invest it. If I won it I would not take the lump sum. I would take it over the span of a few years.”
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MARIE TUDOR
director of first year experience
Granite City, Ill.
“If I won I would pay off all of my student debt and then use some money to build my own library. Also, I’m sure I would go on vacation too.”
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JONATHAN THOMPSON
senior, human services major
St. Clair, Mo.
“I would buy the Rams back.”
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HANNAH WOOD
assistant director of Student Activities
“I would probably just save it. I wouldn’t go out and splurge. I would donate some of it to charity, to school, but I wouldn’t go out and spend it all.”
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CINDY PAYNE
university receptionist
Bridgeton, Mo.
“Instead of going out and blessing people with hunks of money, I buy businesses and turn them over to family and friends so that they may have more money regenerating, making more for them.”
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JESSICA JORDE
freshman, health sciences major
Texico, N.M.
“First I would move out of the country and I feel like I would try to give some of my money to the people that don’t have the basic needs to survive and then I would buy an island.”
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NATHAN WURMB
junior, criminal justice major
Eureka, Mo.
“I would buy a massive yacht and have all my friends and family retire so we could travel the world. I would also buy an island and mansions all over the world.”
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BENJAMIN RANDOLPH
sophomore, undecided
Wright City, Ill.
“First off, I would buy a new car, I’d get out of the apartment and buy a house for my roommates and myself. Lastly, I would take my friends on the most epic trip ever.”
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JAKE ALVERNIA
men’s soccer coach
Florissant, Mo.
“If I were lucky enough to win the lottery, I would take care of my family, my extended family, and my extended extended family here at Missouri Baptist by building a soccer specific stadium. I would make sure we are state of the art in academics, as well as athletics.”
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer