$342 Billion?
- briangparker63
- Mar 9
- 2 min read
A billion is a lot. We hear a lot about billions in the news, mostly in terms of cash, or specifically how much someone is "worth" (Elon Musk is "worth" about $342.8 Billion American as of 4:50 PM on March 8, 2025), or how much something costs (the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier cost about $17 Billion, without the 90 pretty expensive aircraft it carries).
But, really, how much is a billion?
One billion is 1,000 million. For reference, the current population of the United States is about 341 million, so if Mr. Musk peeled off just $1 billion from his very big roll of cash, he could hand every person in the United States, even tiny little just-born Tammy, almost $3 million.
The world population is currently about 8.2 billion. If Musk was crazier than I think he is, he could spend his entire fortune handing every living person in the world almost $42 (nothing for him, but a lot for many). But he's not exactly penniless, because he rakes in about $54 million A DAY. In fact, in the time it took you to read "a day," Mr. Nazipants made $631 for breathing three or four times.
Estimates vary, but in the 90 seconds it took you to decide whether to have another coffee or grab a Coke from the fridge, Musk pocketed the annual average U.S. income of about $59,436. In just a minute and a half, he could have showered his best bud in the White House with 9,000 Big Macs!
With one day's income, he could put 201 people through four years of medical school at a public institution, build 169 small homes, pay for 352 kids to get their bachelor's degrees, or buy one week of groceries for 240,000 families.
Elon Musk literally has more money than he can ever spend. He pockets more in one hour ($4 million) than the net worth of 97% of Americans.
So if Musk was actually a good person and not a megalomaniac Nazi Bond villain, he could make life better for a lot of people without even missing the money. IN ONE DAY!
But he won't. In his mind, he HAS to have more than everyone else. To give any away is streng verbode.
Mahalo.
So on target! Thank you!