What Will You Do With a Billion Dollars?

Amar Pandit , CFA , CFP

September 2, 2025 | 6 Minute Read

Let’s say you wake up tomorrow and there’s a billion dollars sitting in your bank account.

No typo. No scam. No dream.

A real, actual, billion-dollar deposit.

It could be inheritance. Lottery. A tech buyout. Or some unknown family fortune that suddenly finds its way to you.

You open your banking app and there it is.

One. Followed by nine zeroes.

Chances are you will be shocked. You may not even believe it.

You will rub your eyes. Log out. Log back in. Refresh the screen a few times. Check if someone played a prank.

And then, once the reality begins to sink in, something else will happen.

Your emotions will hijack your brain.

You’ll feel euphoria.

Then disbelief.

Then fear.

Then excitement again.

But there’s one emotion that’s most dangerous in this moment.

Confusion.

Because what now?

You’re officially one of the richest people in your city.

And yet, you don’t know what to do next.

Do you tell your spouse?

Do you quit your job?

Do you book that vacation to Italy?

Do you buy that ocean-facing home?

Do you call your parents and say they’ll never have to worry again?

Do you start looking for new financial professionals?

Or do you just sit with your phone, heart racing, trying to catch your breath?

Here’s the thing.

Everyone thinks more money means more happiness.

But in most cases, more money without clarity simply creates more mess.

It becomes a curse disguised as a gift.

Ask any lottery winner.

Ask the athletes who went bankrupt.

Ask the tech founders who lost themselves after the exit.

Ask the families who fought over inheritance and never spoke again.

Sudden wealth, without clarity, has destroyed more lives than most people care to admit.

There’s even a name for it.

Sudden Wealth Syndrome.

It’s a real thing.

Psychologists have studied it.

It often shows up as anxiety, depression, reckless behavior, and isolation.

People lose themselves. They chase lifestyles they never wanted. They get surrounded by noise, fake friends, opportunists, and temptation.

And slowly, the money that once looked like a blessing begins to feel like a burden.

Because here’s the truth.

If you don’t know what to do with money when you have little, you won’t know what to do when you have a lot.

If you didn’t have a plan before the billion, you still won’t have one after.

It will just be a bigger playground with higher stakes.

And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up making some very expensive mistakes.

Let’s take a few real-life stories.

One gentleman in his early forties inherited ₹100 crore from the sale of ancestral land. He was humble. Middle class. Had worked a government job. But when the money arrived, everything changed.

He quit his job.

He bought three cars. One of them was a Lamborghini.

He invested in two restaurants, a gym, and a farmhouse.

He started lending money to relatives and friends, often without documentation.

Within five years, he was broke.

Emotionally exhausted. Financially drained. And completely lost.

Then there’s the young cricketer who was given a large endorsement cheque at the peak of his career. He spent it all in two years. On luxury brands. Cars. Watches. Parties. Then came injuries. Then silence. Then regret.

And of course, there’s the tech entrepreneur who exited his company for a massive valuation.

He built a team of wealth managers and investment bankers around him.

They promised him alpha, access, and alternatives.

He ended up with half a dozen PMS schemes, a dozen AIFs, five luxury homes, and an overleveraged family office.

Today he doesn’t know what he owns or why he owns it.

He has wealth. But he also has stress.

And that’s the problem.

We think the hard part is getting rich.

But the real challenge is staying wise once you are.

If tomorrow you had a billion dollars in your account, what would you do?

Would you keep it?

Would you give it away?

Would you create something with it?

Would you lock it up?

Would you panic?

Or would you pause?

Because the only people who handle wealth well are the ones who have asked themselves this question long before the money shows up.

They know what matters to them.

They know their boundaries.

They know who they are.

And they are not seduced by the noise that money attracts.

Every investor needs to ask themselves this.

Not just because of fantasy.

But because one day, a liquidity event might actually happen.

Your business might be acquired.

Your real estate might boom.

You might inherit something.

You might get an ESOP exit.

And in that moment, you will need more than excitement.

You will need clarity.

You will need calm.

You will need a philosophy.

Because if you don’t have it, the world will give you one.

Your banker will give you advice.

Your financial professional will suggest new ideas.

Your CA will give you tax hacks.

Your friends will give you investment tips.

Instagram will give you luxury ads.

And before you know it, you’re not living your life.

You’re living someone else’s dream.

This is why planning is not just about numbers.

It’s about preparation.

It’s about knowing what matters before the noise arrives.

It’s about setting filters before the flood comes in.

And it’s about being able to say no when everyone is saying yes.

Here’s what I tell clients.

Imagine the money has come in.

Now sit down and write one page.

What will you do with it?

What will you not do with it?

Who will you tell?

What will you buy?

What will you ignore?

And what will you preserve?

If you can answer those questions before the money arrives, you are ready.

If not, then don’t chase wealth until you are.

Because the worst thing you can do is get rich without wisdom.

It’s like giving a jet plane to someone who doesn’t know how to fly.

It looks fun. Until it crashes.

Real wealth is not the number in your bank account.

It is the peace you feel when you look at that number.

It is the absence of fear, guilt, greed, and anxiety.