What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

By Prieur du Plessis, on April 4th, 2009 posted in: Investment, Markets, Money 3 people had their say - chime in!

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All this talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts” … But what does a trillion dollars look like? The graphical illustration below comes courtesy of PageTutor.

We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest US denomination in general circulation. Most people have seen it, slighty fewer have owned it. Guaranteed to make friends wherever it goes.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet …

And $1 BILLION dollars … now we’re really getting somewhere …

Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

Ladies and gentlemen … I give you $1 trillion dollars …

Notice those pallets are double stacked. … and remember those are $100 bills.

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase “trillion dollars”… that’s what they’re talking about.

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