ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

3D simulation shows what $1 quadrillion dollars looks like in cash and it's mindblowing

In a YouTube video, a 3D simulation did a size comparison of the mammoth amount in $100 bills.
UPDATED JUL 25, 2024
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Alfred Gescheidt
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Alfred Gescheidt

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. 

Representative image | Getty Images | Photo by Chung Sung-Jun
Representative image | Getty Images | Photo by Chung Sung-Jun

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.

Screenshots from the video | YouTube | @RED SIDE
Screenshots from the video | YouTube | @RED SIDE

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. 

Screenshots from the video | YouTube | @RED SIDE
Screenshots from the video | YouTube | @RED SIDE

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. 

Screenshot from the comments | YouTube | @imranalam1401
Screenshot from the comments | YouTube | @imranalam1401

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.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
On Christmas day, the contestant, Paul pulled off a win with the tiniest of margins.
3 days ago
This tech giant is betting on the next primary computing device for the world.
3 days ago
This marked the second time this week a player lost out on the $100,000 prize.
3 days ago
Turns out Harvey was just trying to help out a player get some points.
4 days ago
Host Ken Jennings accepted an answer despite an error that most found unacceptable.
4 days ago
The U.S. district court judge's ruling comes ahead of a verdict on tariffs by the Supreme Court.
4 days ago
The player, Erica Sciuto picked all the letters that she needed to win.
4 days ago
While the host comically tried to hide the mistake, the prop was clearly on the floor.
4 days ago
Harvey wasn't prepared to hear some of the answers, at all.
4 days ago
Starting January 7, about 7,000 defaulters are set to receive notices from the Education Department.
5 days ago
Even the host, Ryan Seacrest was surprised to see the good player lose out.
5 days ago
Walmart has deployed several AI-powered tools to deliver a smooth shopping experience.
6 days ago
The warehouse retailer is making a layout change, which may dictate how long customers wait for checkout.
6 days ago
Retailers including Best Buy, Kohl's, Macy's, and more will charge a fee on returns.
6 days ago
Hearing the answers, Harvey wondered how the team that won the question got so far in the game
Dec 16, 2025
Shopper, creator, @sharpintx fell victim to 'return fraud' in the worst possible way.
Dec 16, 2025
Several companies have publicly stated that they are passing on the tariff costs to customers.
Dec 16, 2025
The guest was at a loss for words after hearing the value of the Patek Phillippe watch.
Dec 15, 2025
The fast food chain has raise prices like other but won over its customer base like none.
Dec 15, 2025
BofA Metals Cheif, Michael Widmer estimates gold to hit the $5,000/oz mark in 2026.
Dec 15, 2025