QotD: $100
Posted May 4th, 2005 @ 11:06pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: If you had $100 and were transported back in time 100 years to invest it knowing that you would cash out in 2005, in what would you invest?
My Answer: Stocks in some companies may pay well, but I think I'd buy small chunks of land all around the Los Angeles area. An acre here, an acre there. All throughout the popular parts of the city with multi-billion dollar buildings and businesses (or some really famous people).
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Posted 07 May 2005 at 6:33am #
I'd buy stocks that were on the verge of going under (1ct., for example) and sell them as soon as they reached their highest point (4 dollars, possibly). This would make a nice 40,000 (right?) which would be worth the research.
Posted 13 May 2005 at 2:24pm #
When you get your time machine, do the stock thing, not the real estate thing. It is the method least likely to disrupt the time stream.
You probably couldn't even buy such scattered parcels back then, as they were dependant on later development for their boundaries. You might be able to do the Bob Hope thing, and buy Palm Springs. But would Palm Springs have happened, with you merely being a squatter?
Your buying land and merely coming back to the present to reap the rewards could have PREVENTED a lot of real estate development. With stock, you are letting the management of the company go on in your absence, given there are no proxy struggles over the years.
Posted 18 May 2005 at 2:33am #
Blasted, Bud! You said what I wanted to say, but did it better and more comprehensively. (I just hope Erik doesn't notice your failure to answer the question and erase the comment.)
To make the real estate play, you would need to invest in some as of 2005 completely undeveloped land that no one would lay claim to in the 100 year interim. (think certain parts of Florida.)
My Answer:
I'd pick Phillip Morris (now known as Alria) without hesitation and without looking into anything else or doing any research. I'd even keep what I had past 2005, because the dividend yield tends to hover around 5%. (Note: I'd want the dividend income reinvested and I'd want my holdings held by The Trust Company of Georgia, which is now SunTrust, because it is one of the few major financial institutions in the US to keep all its investor's assets safe through the depression.) OK, I like American History and financial trivia a little too much. I'll admit to it.