3D simulation shows what $1 quadrillion dollars looks like in cash and it's mindblowing
When expanded, a quadrillion dollar looks like $1,000,000,000,000,000. While that's a lot of zeroes, one can only imagine how that much money would look like in real life. However, this question has been answered by a state-of-the-art simulation by YouTube content creator Red Side.
Here's how a stack of $1 quadrillion looks like
The video starts with the normal $100 bill and goes on to scale up. It goes to $100 million, $1 billion, and then to $100 billion while comparing the size of the money pile to a normal human being and a semi-truck. To put things in perspective, the richest family in the world, the Al Nahyan has a fortune of $305 billion, as per the Financial Express.
The simulation then jumps to $1 trillion comparing the size of the pile to a space shuttle. Next, it jumps to show the U.S. national debt which was $28+ trillion at the time. The amount was stacked up against the Statue of Liberty.
Next, the video shows how a stack of the world debt, $281 trillion would look like against a skyscraper. In the end, the video shows how big a stack of $1 quadrillion would be. The stack easily surpasses the skyscraper reaching up to a height of 960 meters, taller than Burj Khalifa which stands at 828 meters.
Viewers were stunned to see the results."Holy shit skis. That is a cool example. Oh, to be rich eh?? I don't think anyone is that rich but I think there are countries that have huge debt like your compared example... Cool vid, I liked it," wrote user, @kevinrhodes79.
Meanwhile, another user suggested that there may be a chance to realize the sum. "Hypothetically, the world's total money reserves could rise to 1 quadrillion," wrote @hi-fy2wb.
Meanwhile, one of the viewers, @mankind8807 asked an interesting question, "Something about 'World Debt' is so funny to me, like I get the actual concept, but if you take it literally it’s so funny Like who tf we owe this money too?"
This question was answered by the World Economic Forum in a 2023 report. As per the Institute of International Finance, global debt hit a record $307 trillion in 2023. WEF explained that this was the total amount of borrowings undertaken by governments, businesses, and households across the globe.
The report also explained why global debt mattered. As per World Bank research, debt puts the most devastating pressure on emerging and developing economies.
Such countries often need to reduce spending on health, education, and social protection, to pay off their outstanding debt to other countries of financial institutions. This may hinder their growth and lower their quality of life. This also has a counter effect on the country's internal interest rates.
Furthermore, if countries default on their debts, it can lead to massive panic in the financial markets and lead to significant economic slowdowns. Debt stress can also cause protracted recessions and high inflation which has a disproportionate impact on the poor in low-income countries, according to the World Bank.