I always thought about what I would do when I won the lottery....Help some good charities, take care of the bills, etc.
The main effort from there would be to create a company that would rebuild classic cars and restore them to their glory days....Spend time finding them and making them shiney & new all over again....
Here is one guy who is able to do something along those lines and I am willing to bet that we ( him & I ) have a lot of common interest in what can be done when you have the $$$$ and time to make it possible....Lucky guy.
How One Millionaire Made Himself a Pint-Sized Ferrari
Srour (pronounced “se-rure”) spots me standing in front of his parking garage and strides across the street. He offers a firm, bone-crushing handshake and immediately gestures to my red baseball hat – the one I almost never take off.
“I’m going to need that,” he says, giddily slapping my shoulder. “It’s freaking cold out.”
Other Rides To Kill For
I reluctantly hand over the cap, sheepishly adjusting my bedhead, and stand aside as Srour, 54, delicately lowers himself into his two-thirds-scale 1952 Ferrari F2 500 race car. At just over 3 feet tall and 6 feet long, the F2 holds the dubious distinction of being the only street-legal model car in Manhattan – if not the Eastern United States. It’s also the first example in Srour’s ambitious plan to transform a duo of model Ferraris into super-powered road-rockets. The second car, another two-thirds-scale 275 GTB/4 – a model made partially famous by Steve McQueen – should be road-ready early next year.
The original F2, driven by Alberto Ascari, was one of the most prolific racing Ferraris ever built. In 1952, it dominated the Formula One World Championship, winning every round except for the Indianapolis 500. It is, in fact, the second most successful car in Formula One history, only behind the incomparable McLaren MP4/4, which won more races in 1988. In a strange twist of fate, Srour’s only encounter with the real F2 was at the Cavallino Classic in 2007. “I had no idea it was going to be there,” says Srour, who was there to show off the two-thirds model for display. “Putting the two cars side by side was like seeing a father and son reunited.”
Today we’re headed to a popular car gathering in New Jersey. I’ll drive Srour’s Ferrari 458 Spider (tough life, I know) and have been instructed to stay close behind the F2 for the duration of our 45-mile journey. And for good reason. While the F2 can hit 90 mph, its small size means even inattentive Mini drivers could take it out.
As I strap into the 458, Srour pulls beside me, gooses the throttle and grins from ear to ear. A lady walking a Chihuahua stops to issue a displeased, authoritative stare. Srour is unfazed.
“Let’s roll,” he says, tearing down the street in one of the oddest sights I’ve ever seen in Manhattan.
To understand Srour’s passion for mini-cars is to enter the mind of the ultimate car fanatic. After finding success in children’s fashion (The Parigi Group, the company he started in 1980, holds exclusive licensing contracts with Puma, DKNY, Lucky Brand, Nicole Miller, and Paul Frank, among others), Srour, a native of Lebanon, began amassing an impressive array of Italian sports cars. His collection, which he calls “The Red Cave,” includes a Ferrari F50, Dino 246, Alfa Giulietta Spider and a Maserati Mexico, all dressed in gleaming Rosso Corso.
Srour purchased the F2 for $75,000 while on business in Las Vegas as a present for his 12-year-old son, who was beginning to show his own passion for exotic cars. Originally crafted by Carrozzerria Allegretti, a shop in Italy that specializes in custom cars, the F2 was tiny, underpowered, and designed for children – not adults.
“My intention was to give it to my son,” Srour said, “however, when I took it out for a spin, I totally fell in love with it. That’s when we came up with the idea to make it street-legal.”
Photo: Nathan Laliberte
Srour’s clever mechanic, Raffi Najjarian, was given the unenviable job of transforming the F2 into a road-rocket capable of withstanding the rigors of Manhattan streets while seamlessly offering a modicum of comfort and safety for the driver.
“I was surprised to get the project.” Najjarian said. “In fact, it’s still a bit of a joke to me. When he first bought the car, Marco asked if I could make it into a road car and I jokingly responded, ‘Sure, why not.’ And then he said ‘Okay, so do it.’”
The build began in 2005 and was done in three separate stages, each taking about a year to complete: drivetrain then suspension (the F2 came without rear shocks), along with extensive overhauls to the chassis and engine.
Upon completion of the first phase, Najjarian installed headlights, turn signals, 14-inch wire rims and a miniature license plate bracket. To keep the noise down, he tacked on a modified Harley-Davidson muffler to the chrome exhaust tips which instantly transformed the F2 from a blaring hot-rod to a highly tuned gentleman’s racer.
Srour, who is 5 foot 6, required six additional inches of legroom to properly operate the three floor pedals, so the chassis and bodywork were extended accordingly. “We also upgraded the brakes to a dual-circuit system, operating in the front and the back, independently,” says Najjarian. “The car is light enough [roughly 600 lbs] that I was able to use drum brakes as opposed to disk brakes.”
To give the engine – an original 1952 Topolino – a little more pep, Najjarian designed a custom transmission and installed several high-end racing components, including a handmade camshaft.
“The original setup had a 500cc engine that was pretty anemic,” Najjarian told me. “It only made 27 horsepower with a top speed of 40 mph and it was mated to a 4-speed transmission with 4 synchros.” To provide proper motivation, Najjarian pulled the transmission, built a custom housing and fitted a dogleg transmission from a Nissan. “First gear is in line with reverse,” Najjarian says proudly, “just like a modern-day Ferrari 5-speed.”
Surprisingly, Srour and Najjarian agreed to keep the engine, but modified it with Abarth racing parts to increase the displacement to 600cc, boosting output to around 45 hp and delivering a top speed of 90 mph at 7,000 rpm.
“Much to my surprise, it turned out to be a really down-to-earth car,” says Najjarian. “I thought it would it always be a toy, but now I think of it as a real car. It’s completely, 100 percent drivable.”
Photo: Gila Srour
Next up for Najjarian is Srour’s two-thirds-scale 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder, whose body shell was made by Carrozzeria Allegretti. “This car will have two doors, a passenger seat, and seatbelts – much more advanced than the F2,” Najjarian says. The top speed will be in the neighborhood of 110 to 120 mph, but the main challenge will be mating the new engine to the reworked transaxle. “I plan on making them a stressed member of the frame,” Najjarian explains, “which will make everything more rigid.”
Back in New Jersey, Srour pulls next to me on the highway. One guy in a Chevy Malibu was so befuddled by the presence of the F2 he almost plowed head-first into a construction median. After his near-miss, he caught up, gave an enthusiastic (if not foolhardy) thumbs up, and continued snapping photos on his smartphone.
The guys at the car show were equally mystified. A large crowd gathered as Srour elegantly removed the engine cover, exposing the F2′s complex innards. One slightly husky 12-year-old boy jumped into the driver’s seat. While most collectors cringe at the thought of kids poking around in their cars, Srour isn’t that guy.
“Hey, this thing’s a toy,” said the boy, fumbling with the rear-view mirror. “Not quite, kid,” said Srour. “Not quite.”
Like a wise man once said, you can't win unless you play - Even though I am overseas in Afghanistan, I convinced the missus to buy 2 tickets.
Yeah, there may be others that buy many more, but the odds still only give you the same chance on each ticket - Here's hoping my wife ( who never buys lottery tix) will have the lucky picks....we will all find out later today.....Winning the Powerball would be one way to cap my present mission to the sandbox.....And be able to endow a number of great charities that would be on the list of people I'd like to help.....We will see.
How Much Tax Would You Owe On A $500 Million Powerball Jackpot?
With talk of the fiscal cliff and tax hikes for the rich dominating the news, you might be worrying about how much you’ll really get to keep after you win tonight’s record-setting Powerball jackpot. (As of this writing, it’s an estimated $500 million, but that’s likely to rise before the drawing as more tickets are sold.)
The answer, as I explained last August when the Powerball jackpot hit $337 million, and last March when the Mega Millions jackpot hit a record $656 million, depends on which of the 44 participating jurisdictions you buy your winning ticket in; where you live; whether you claim your money in a lump sum or take it as an annuity; and should you make the annuity choice, what happens to tax rates in the future. If you read the fine print at the Powerball site, you’ll see that you only get the full $500 million if you’re the only player to match all six balls and you agree to take the payout in 30 inflation adjusted payments over 29 years. If you’re the sole winner and want all your money now, you’ll get a $327.4 million payout—which would still qualify as the largest single lottery payout in U.S. history, since the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot was split among three winning tickets.
Of course we don’t know where tax rates are headed after Dec. 31. If President Barack Obama and the Democrats have their way, the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest will expire and the top federal individual income tax rate will revert from today’s 35% to the 39.6% in effect under President Bill Clinton. Republicans, for their part, insist that the top rate shouldn’t rise—and could even be reduced by a tax reform that limits deductions.
So let’s assume you’re the only winner and are happier gambling on lotteries than tax policy. That means taking the $327 million lump sum in 2012. Of the 44 jurisdictions (including 42 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands) now participating in Powerball, six—Florida, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota and Washington —don’t have a state income tax and a seventh, Pennsylvania, exempts lottery winnings from its tax. (Delaware used to exempt winnings, but no longer does.) If you’re a resident of one of those seven states and the sole winner, you can hand over 35%—the current top rate– to Uncle Sam and be done with it. That leaves roughly $213 million for you, assuming you don’t want to make any big gifts to charity (more on that later.)
To many readers, this might sound wrong, since only 25% is withheld from the winner’s check for federal tax. (That’s assuming the winner supplies a Social Security number. The IRS requires 28% withholding if you don’t provide a valid tax ID.) But 35% is the top federal rate in 2012 on ordinary income, such as wages, and gambling winnings are taxed as ordinary income. Moreover, both you and the Internal Revenue Service will receive a Form W-2G reporting your full winnings. So set aside some cash above the amount withheld to pay that extra tax, unless you want the IRS’ to start attaching your bank accounts. (Forget about hiding the money in Switzerland; that game is over.)
As for state and local tax, looking at only participating states, New York City residents take the biggest tax hit; they pay an 8.82% top state tax on income over $2 million per couple and a 3.88% city levy on income over $500,000, for a combined top 12.7% rate. Their only consolation: State and local taxes are deductible from federal taxable income, which reduces the combined federal/state/local share to around 43%, and leaves about $187 million for the winner to pocket.
California doesn’t participate in the Powerball, but if you’re a California resident who buys the winning ticket while travelling, you’ll end up paying slightly higher taxes than a New York City resident would. In November, California voters passed Proposition 30, which set a new, highest-in-the-nation tax on income of $1 million plus of 13.3% (up from 10.3%) retroactive to January 1, 2012. True, California exempts winnings from its own state lotteries from tax. But it does tax winnings from other states’ lotteries. (Fair? Nope. But that’s what the state’s tax form here, says. See the explanation of Line 21, Other Income. So don’t complain to me; write to California Gov. Jerry Brown.)
What if a resident of a state without an income tax picks up his ticket while visiting the Big Apple? New York states in Publication 140-W that the winnings on any tickets bought in a lottery run by the New York State Division of Lottery—and that includes Powerball—are New York state source income, taxable by New York, whether you are a resident or not. If you bought the ticket in New York, the state will take its cut out before paying you your winnings. That means, for example, if you’re a Pennsylvania resident who works in New York (as some do) you should never buy your tickets at work. Instead, buy them at your home in Pennsylvania, since it doesn’t tax lottery winnings. (New York City does not have a tax on nonresidents. So if you aren’t a resident of the city and happen to buy your ticket while visiting the Big Apple, you won’t have to pay the extra 3.88%. What is unclear, however, is if a New York City resident who wins a big jackpot can move from the city, take annuity payments, and avoid the city tax on them; tax experts says the city might assert that it still has a right to its cut, since the winner was a resident at the time of his big score.)
Suppose you plan to give most of your winnings to charity? Can you escape taxes that way? Not entirely. As Robert Wood explains here, deductions for charitable contributions are usually limited to 50% of your income and in some cases less. So if you collect $327 million this year and give away megabucks later, you may never get to use all your deductions. That means, if you’re serious about philanthropy, you should take the payout over 29 years and make your gifts over time, as you build up knowledge about the causes and charities you’re funding—the way billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have done. (For the 100 largest U.S. charities, click here.)
Meanwhile, if you plan to share your good fortune with your family, think about spreading the wealth quickly. Under current law, you can give up to $5.12 million to recipients other than a spouse before you’re subject to the 35% federal gift tax. A couple can give away $10.24 million. But unless a political deal is cut, that exemption will fall to just $1 million on January 1. (Note: You can make annual tax-free gifts of up to $13,000 in 2012 or $14,000 in 2013 to as many individuals as you want, without it counting against your exemption.) Fortunately, only Connecticut has a gift tax, but 21 states and the District of Columbia do impose inheritance or estate taxes. So if you live in one of them, giving away money to your family while you’re alive could save a tidy amount in state estate tax. (For advice on making gifts before year end, click here.)
Finally, all this tax talk raises the question of whether it’s really worth playing the lottery if Uncle Sam and your state are going to take back so much of your winnings. To answer that, consider what legendary investor Warren Buffett, the nation’s second richest man, had to say in his New York Times opinion piece this week calling for a minimum tax on the wealthy. Buffet claimed he’s never heard an investor turn down a good idea because the taxes on his gain would be too high.
Are lottery tickets really a good investment? Not really. But it’s fair to say, that if you’re ready to blow a whole $2 on the 175 million odds of picking the right six numbers, you shouldn’t let a 35% or a 43% tax bite stop you.
Today was one of those days when I was thinking about all the fun I want to have in the new VW BUS project when she is redone -
Here is how she appears presently:
Here is what she should look like when she is restored to her prior glory days:
Time and $$$ - When I have the TIME, I usually don't have the $$$$ and vice-a-versa.....
Here's to hoping I can get the two essential ingredients together when I am back on the homefront in the future.....Then the real fun of restoring her will begin.
