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What would you do with £125 million?

The world's biggest single lottery jackpot - £125 million - could be won on Friday night in the EuroMillions draw. The odds of winning are 76 million to one, but what would you do if you won such a colossal sum? And is it obscene that so much money could be won by just one person?

1. Yes, it is obscene that one person could win all that money (£125 million), but no more obscene than paying footballers, pseudo-celebrities and CEOs huge amounts of money just for doing their job. I note that their work often does not concern caring for other people. As G.B. Shaw observed in the words of Alfred Dolittle: It's always the deserving poor. Am I not as deserving as anyone else? I'd like to see the jackpot go to many winners. Carlyle Braden, Croydon

2.I would pay off my crippling debts (one of the few sad reasons I play the lottery). I would then take my wife out for dinner to celebrate and probably book a skiing holiday for us and our little daughter. I would then have a long, hard think about where and how I/we want to live the rest of our lives. I would like to give some money to a good cause and I might just start a charity, maybe fund an educational programme. I would make sure that my parents', siblings' and cousins' immediate needs were addressed. I would love to study, travel, play musical instruments better and become a good tennis player. Learning to fly, helping fund young entrepreneurs, conservation, discovering new artists are all on the wish list. Finally, give up smoking - no need for any more! Name and address withheld

3. Anyone who has a personal wealth of in excess of £1 million has a tremendous responsibility. Think about Mathew 19:24: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Of course, you may not want to enter God's kingdom; you may not believe God exists. Even if that is the case, the principle holds true; as a person, you will be changed by great wealth - and not necessarily for the better. No-one could blame you for securing the future for yourself, your family and anyone else close to you but that would leave a great deal of change from £125 million and there are plenty of worthwhile issues or causes in the world that could benefit. Who knows? You might still make it through the eye of that needle. Tom Edwards, Bromley

4. Instead of getting worked up over whether the Euromillions jackpot is "obscene", I am spending exactly what I always spend on my lottery flutter (£3) and naturally hoping I'll get lucky. It's not much but if I didn't play I couldn't win. And if not this time, then maybe next time. Francis Ingle, Ware

5. Donate 100 million pounds to The Gates Foundation to help save Africa from the AIDS epidemic. Keep the rest for my family. Clyde Jackson, Seattle

6. It would make life a lot easier. I would give some away to close family and friends, but nothing more than what I would receive in the first year's interest. I would travel the world first class for a year or two and then spend a disgusting amount on a home in the sun overlooking the sea and live the life of riley. £125,000,000 would just fit the bill. Jason Vander Sluis, Brighton

7. Yes, it is an obscene amount of money to fall into the wrong hands and could quite simply destroy the winner's life. But... can you imagine how many good things could be done with that much money? I imagine it would be difficult to keep winning a secret so I would make it very clear that at least £120 million would be put immediately into a trust fund, and that I would not read any begging letters. I would pay off my family's mortgages and take a long holiday to think about things. Then with my new-found freedom (from work) I would become a philanthropist and spend my new working days deciding which projects and charities worthy of my money. What a glorious thought! Jan Elliott, Portrush, Northern Ireland

8. I'd set up organizations such as John Bird's Big Issue, fund practical overseas aid programmes, finance independent bookshops, re-establish libraries, buy a television network and related media outlets, pay off my brother's mortgage, buy my daughter a house and generally go about performing spontaneous and unsolicited acts of unexpected generosity! Sue Cremer, Seabrook, Hythe

9. This jackpot has coaxed me to buy a ticket for the first time ever. If I win, I plan on buying a volcanic island on which to build an underground lair, a big leather swivel chair and a white cat. Then, I'm planning on just laughing a lot. Simon Clark, London

10. I would not tell anyone that I had won the money and would continue to live my life in the same way as I have lived it so far. Robin Valentine, London

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