What is your best investment ever?

NovaGator

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Dec 10, 2015
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My wife once worked for a dentist who decided to form a dental HMO. He offer his employees
the opportunity to purchase 25,000 shares for $2500. About 10 years later he got into a pissing match with his partner. Each wanted to take control and I was contacted by said partner who offered to buy
my shares for $7,500. Since the dentist who my wife worked for was also a friend I wouldn't sell.
A week later my wife's old boss showed up at our house and wanted my proxy for the upcoming
fight. I did give it to him and for the next 10 years I never gave it any thought. Then one day he called me and told me that the company was being sold to a large insurance company at a price of $ 13.25 a share. The deal was structured so that we received $32,500 in cash and the balance in stock of the purchasing company.
We held onto the stock long enough to receive a quarterly dividend and then sold it. We used to proceeds to pay off our house. In hind sight I should have asked for an option of another 100,000 shares at the 30 cents per share that I was offered for giving him my proxy. I am sure he would have done it as he had the right
to some 1.5 million shares.
 
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FireFoley

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Nov 19, 2014
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Investing a few bux into becoming a member here on GC so I could spend my days with a hodgepodge group of people that over time has made me a much angrier and dumber person. But a great investment nonetheless,

Second was selling my home in 2005 4 years after I bought it for 3X what I paid for it.
 
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soflagator

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Sep 4, 2014
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I caught a pretty good move in Chesapeake back in 2006. Don’t recall the specific numbers but remember it being an issue the following tax season. Mostly trade strangles(if you classify that as an investment) so individual gains were inherently modest.

Like FF, it would probably be in RE. Not as extreme as his case, but I did buy a home once in April and sold it in August for about 60% net. So the ROI combined with the time frame probably would make it my best.
 

soflagator

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I'm shocked he hasn't taken all his venture capital from his other projects and rebranded it as a new crypto....Oxcoin...to the moon baby.

Ox has always been more of a tangible guy. I'm sure he's in the process of launching his own currency. I just don't see him going crypto. The second 3D printer says it all.
 

no1g8r

Bringing Reason to the dumb masses
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Oct 23, 2017
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There is an Ox cryptocurrency with a trading mnemonic of ZRX. I bought a “lotto ticket” of it at 38.2% off of it’s 2021 peak. Since then it has lost another 60%. I have quite a few of these $h!tcoins that I plunked $100 each into. Ox coin isn’t the worst of them, but it is 12th from the bottom of a list of 47 that I have a small interest in.
 

Concrete Helmet

Hook, Line, and Sinker
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Jul 29, 2014
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Conventional investments? Real Estate x 3, 1990-2000 tripled in value and was paid off when sold. It was a primary split proceeds with ex in divorce tax exempt. 2nd investment in 2002-present up nearly 3x owe .25 of present value, and 2009 up nearly 2.5x owe 1/3 of current value.

Unconventional :lol2:
A $2 Florida Lotto ticket
An old Lady who decided to hit me head on...oh, and a good attorney.
A $5 cover charge at the Blue Martini on Lady's night 16 years ago....

Yeah, I have to say ol Crete may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but there ain't many luckier...:lol:
 

Gator By Marriage

A convert to Gatorism
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Dec 31, 2018
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My wife once worked for a dentist who decided to form a dental HMO. He offer his employees
the opportunity to purchase 25,000 shares for $2500. About 10 years later he got into a pissing match with his partner. Each wanted to take control and I was contacted by said partner who offered to buy
my shares for $7,500. Since the dentist who my wife worked for was also a friend I wouldn't sell.
A week later my wife's old boss showed up at our house and wanted my proxy for the upcoming
fight. I did give it to him and for the next 10 years I never gave it any thought. Then one day he called me and told me that the company was being sold to a large insurance company at a price of $ 13.25 a share. The deal was structured so that we received $32,500 in cash and the balance in stock of the purchasing company.
We held onto the stock long enough to receive a quarterly dividend and then sold it. We used to proceeds to pay off our house. In hind sight I should have asked for an option of another 100,000 shares at the 30 cents per share that I was offered for giving him my proxy. I am sure he would have done it as he had the right
to some 1.5 million shares.
How many of you guys multiplied 25,000 by $13.25?
 

Alumni Guy

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Nov 7, 2015
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I purchased Apple stock right before the ipod, and obviously the iPhone came out.

sold it and paid the 20% on my home to avoid PMI.

They say Capital Gains is a nice problem to have, but Uncle Sam bent me over on that one.
 

UFHealthGator

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Nov 12, 2017
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I moved for a new job and instead of doing the usual "rent for the first year before you buy", I just went ahead and bought a house for 350k. I financed 100% of it through physician loan program, which means 0% down and no PMI. I ended up moving again in about 18 months for another job, and selling the house. Sold the house for 500k because of the crazy RE market.

Basically the only thing I invested is my credit score and closing costs, and interest I paid during those 18 months. Of course I would have been paying rent any way so no opportunity cost lost there. Best part is I qualified for partial exclusion on gain for home residence by the IRS. Paid 0% taxes on gains.
 
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bradgator2

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Jun 12, 2014
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From a pure $ standpoint, I guess our home we bought in 2004 and sold in 2006 would have to be it.

Of course, we also bought a new home in 2006 so I lost all of it (plus some).

I have had some individual stocks that have gained 1000-2000%. But not enough invested to have a meaningful impact.
 

BMF

Bad Mother....
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Sep 8, 2014
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When the Deepwater Horizon incident happened in 2010, BP stocked TANKED! I jumped on it and sold it for well over 100% profit (I made over $5k). My 40th birthday was in late August that year, so I sold it all....and took the profit in cash - normally I just leave it in the brokerage account and end up losing :) - I went to Vegas with some buddies for my birthday, we got a VIP booth at the Hard Rock Casino's nightclub (we all hooked up w/ some hot LA b*tches that night), got a VIP cabana at the pool, and the entire trip was pretty much free.
 

CDGator

Not Seedy
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Jul 24, 2020
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Stayed home and raised the kids.
Best investment ever. (Maybe)

Seedy put a ton of sweat equity into the house that we hope to cash out on one day. (TBD)

Guess that leaves all that money I save by shopping for the best deals. :lol:
 

Thought Criminal

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Jul 31, 2018
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Back in the 90's I worked with several friends and we all dabbled in the market. We found this tiny bottling company on pink sheets right around the corner from us, it was just this tiny warehouse and we weren't even sure they were in business anymore. But the stock was still trading at a fraction of a penny and we decided it would be fun to see just how much we could move it.

We loaded up over a few days, and as soon as the last person was in, I bailed... I got a ten bagger while everyone else lost money. I often feel warm inside thinking about how valuable a life lesson they learned that day.
 

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