[Posted this calculation on LinkedIn and there was some good discussion. It’s hard to understand just how much money the richest people have]
As the world’s powerful gather in Davos…
I recently did a little math to put Elon Musk (world’s richest person) and his wealth of ~$436 billion into perspective.
Imagine earning the median U.S. family income of $80,000 a year. Here’s how long it would take to reach $436 billion (please check my math):
Annually: 5.5 million years
Monthly: 454,000 years
Weekly: 104,000 years
Daily: 15,000 years
Hourly: 621 years
Per minute: 10+ years
Per second: 2+ months
Let that sink in:
Imagine $80,000 popping up in front of you every second…
…for 2 months.
The scale of wealth at the top is truly unfathomable.
Nobody seriously thinks everyone should have the same amount of money, but how is it sustainable or stable to have this unprecedented level of inequality (since maybe ancient empires — maybe pharaohs had this much)?
What kind of power do people with that much yield? And how do they use it?
#inequality #wealth
(Image: Bing AI)
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