Are you cringing at the idea of graduating with thousands of dollars in student loan debt? Not a problem. 19-year-old Ron Steen, a student at California State University at Fullerton, has a better idea.
According to CNN Money, Steen put his future up for auction on eBay in August. For a minimum bid of $100,000 to cover his education costs, Stenn promised the winner 2 percent of all his future earnings.
Okay. Let’s pretend I had $100,000 to throw around however I wanted, and eBay hadn’t removed the auction after five days for violating the site’s charity policy. Hmm…what to invest in? Stocks, bonds…or the uncertain future of a 19-year-old stranger from Anaheim?
Tough choice, I know. There’s no way I’d send this kid my money even though he swears he is “the real deal” (whatever that means) and “a very intelligent guy.”
Steen told the magazine that he expects to earn “way” more than $125,000 a year before he turns 65, which is when his investor would break even on his or her $100,000 investment.
I’m certainly no expert on investing, but when the guys at Fortune Small Business Magazine tell readers that Breen would actually “have to average $1.5 million a year to match an investment that yielded a 6 percent return, compounded annually over the same period,” I know there are some flaws in Breen’s logic. Even a non-finance student like me knows that the $1,375,000 Breen seems to have forgotten to hypothetically earn every year is a lot of money.
But hey, if you have an extra hundred grand lying around burning a hole in your pocket, go ahead and help out Ron Steen. After all, he’s still optimistic that someone will take up his cause.
And who knows, the kid might even succeed. As long as he doesn’t go into any careers that involve finance. Or numbers. Or writing anything, because even this “very intelligent guy” apparently couldn’t ask complete strangers for $100,000 without making five spelling errors.
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December 1st, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Would the 100k count against my financial aid?