Does that mean all these rich people have just numbers and there aren't actual currency that can cover all of it. Let's say every billionaire wanted to cash out, would there be this much cash in the system at all?
correct. the latest numbers from the federal reserves estimates the total value of all physical US currency in circulation at about $2.3 trillion. meanwhile, this analysis of data from forbes puts the combined wealth of US billionaires at about $4.2 trillion as of April 2021, and that number has almost certainly risen since then. billionaires don't run on cash, they run on manipulating numbers in computer systems, and most of their wealth is in the forms of stocks and such, rather than money in a bank account anyways.
Sounds like a bullshit system. How can someone have this much money that is not even available in cash.
It’s the same with the value of company stock. It’s essentially a ponzi in a way. If a billionaire actually tired to sell all their assets quickly they wouldn’t be able to liquidate it all for the value that it’s worth on paper because the value would drop if they tried.
Does that mean all these rich people have just numbers and there aren't actual currency that can cover all of it. Let's say every billionaire wanted to cash out, would there be this much cash in the system at all?
correct. the latest numbers from the federal reserves estimates the total value of all physical US currency in circulation at about $2.3 trillion. meanwhile, this analysis of data from forbes puts the combined wealth of US billionaires at about $4.2 trillion as of April 2021, and that number has almost certainly risen since then. billionaires don't run on cash, they run on manipulating numbers in computer systems, and most of their wealth is in the forms of stocks and such, rather than money in a bank account anyways.
Sounds like a bullshit system. How can someone have this much money that is not even available in cash.
It’s the same with the value of company stock. It’s essentially a ponzi in a way. If a billionaire actually tired to sell all their assets quickly they wouldn’t be able to liquidate it all for the value that it’s worth on paper because the value would drop if they tried.