Mega Millions jackpot: What will $1 billion buy these days?

A billion dollars is a lot of money.

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It’s such a lot of money that most of us would have a difficult time even imagining what a stack of bills that equal $1.02 billion -- the current Mega Millions jackpot -- would look like.

With that kind of jackpot, there’s a chance – a real longshot of a chance, but a chance, nonetheless – that someone could get their hands on a billion dollars after Friday’s drawing.

How much money will you get after taxes if you win the Mega Millions jackpot?

Note we said hands on, not around because that would take some doing.

Can you imagine what a billion dollars would look like? It’s not easy, but here are a few visuals that may help.

In height

Take one billion $1 bills and put them in a stack (we’ll wait) after years of stacking, your pile would measure 358,510 feet or 67.9 miles high.

In area

One billion $1 bills would cover a four-square mile area, or the equivalent of 2,555 acres.

In length

If you laid the $1 bills end to end, the trail would measure 96,900 miles.

In weight

One billion $1 bills would weigh around 10 tons. If you want your winnings in quarters, it will weigh 22,680 tons. If you took the quarters and put them into quart jars, you’d have 4,353,379.17 of them.

Melt those quarters down, and the molten metal would equal 3,419,136 quarts – that would fill an Olympic size swimming pool one-and-a-half times.

How fast can you go through that money?

If you were really dedicated, and could spend $20 per second, you could spend $1 billion dollars in 578 days (1 year, 214 days). You’re gonna need some caffeine, but you can afford it, so go for it.

Looking at gross domestic production around the globe, where would you sit?

If you won the $1.02 billion jackpot, before taking a lump sum or paying taxes – using that $1.02 billion figure as a measure of your wealth – you would have more money than a slew of countries can produce in a year (in gross domestic products).

Who you would be ahead of:

· Saint Kitts & Nevis: $992,007,403

· Vanuatu in the South Pacific: $862,879,789

· Samoa in the South Pacific: $840,927,997

· Sao Tome & Principe in Africa: $392,570,293

Who wants to save to become a billionaire?

Ok, you don’t win the lottery and decide to get the money the old-fashion way – you are going to earn it. How long would it take for you to become a billionaire?

Start saving now, because if you could save $100 a day, it would take you 10 million days to save up $1 billion dollars. That’s 27,387.26 years.

What can you buy?

Here’s the fun part, spending the money. Here’s a list of things you could pick up with a billion dollars:

35 F-35A fighter jets: If you are in the market for an air force, you can take your winnings and get a few of the $77,000,000 planes. If you wanted to upgrade, it will cost you. The F-35B averages around $130,000,000.

1 MLB team: You could pick up the Miami Marlins for $990 million and have enough left over for a hot dog and a Coke.

‘A little work’ done: The average cost of liposuction is around $3,600 not including the cost of anesthesia and other fees.

With your winnings, you could “tuck” the butt, tummy, upper arms or thighs of every person who will attend the annual Florida-Georgia football game in November -- more than 61,000 people. Plus, all the people who will attend the Alabama-Auburn game – around 73,000.

Oh, what the heck, throw in those who go to the Michigan-Ohio State slugfest – last year it was 111,156. All together you will have spent around $882.5 million.

That doggy in the (big) window: If you are a dog lover, you’d be set for some serious fur. A Tibetan Mastiff puppy reportedly sold for almost $2 million in China a few years or so ago, making it likely the priciest dog ever purchased. With $1 billion, you could have 500 of the 160-pound dogs that resemble a lion.

Buckingham Palace: If Queen Elizabeth were to put it on the market, it’s cost would be an estimated $1.3 billion – you’d have to finance the other $280 million. If you don’t want to blow all your money on a palace, Balmoral Castle, if it were for sale, would set you back around $140 million.

At that price, get two.

The White House: If you are thinking domestic, you could go with the White House. Zillow, the real estate listings web company, says it’s worth around $398 million. Of course, there is already a tenant in there.

How about some art: If you are a fan of Leonardo da Vinci’s work, and it were for sale, the Mona Lisa would set you back around $900 million.

A new car, perhaps?: A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold for $142,769,250. It is believed to be the highest price tag for any car in history, but you sure would turn heads in the school carpool line.

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