Imagine we live in a parallel universe. One in which Bill Gates suddenly decides he would like to add the title of 100m World Champion to his already impressive CV. Gates hires the best trainers money can buy and sets about turning himself into a world class sprinter. After a couple of years hard work and improving to sub-12 second standard, Gates uses some of his considerable wealth to offer Usain Bolt an incredible amount of money to face him for the official crown of “World 100m Champion”.
However, to improve his chances, Gates insists Bolt run while wearing a pair of wellington boots. No boots, no deal. It would still be a fantastic achievement should Gates win, but would he really be the world champion?
Meanwhile, the winner of the recent ?113m European Lottery (that’s $180m for our American readers) realizes that his riches can enable him to quit work and concentrate on his dream of becoming the world’s greatest tennis player. He moves to Florida, employs the best coaches available and through sheer hard work and natural skill becomes a decent top 100 player. This isn’t good enough though and he offers Roger Federer a blank check to face him in one final match, the winner to be named “The World’s Greatest Tennis Player”.
