That is because very large numbers tend to lose their meaning. The average net
worth of the world’s 1,210 billionaires, at $3.7bn – up a couple of hundred
million dollars versus 2010 – is more or less incomprehensible to, say, an
American with a median net worth at the last census of $120,000. Ask the
average Joe to imagine a brand new 160ft Millennium Casino Royal superyacht
and he will stare blankly. Only revealing that the boat costs almost $60,000
to fill up with diesel, for example, can give its stratospheric price tag
meaning.
And that is just one yacht. How on earth to comprehend $3.7bn in net assets?
Put it another way. Pretend the UK’s Bruno Schroder and his family – 297th on
the list with exactly that amount, according to Forbes – are sick of the
banker bashing and desire as risk-free a life as investing allows. Putting
their fortune into 30-year US Treasuries and taxing the income at 40 per
cent would give them a yearly allowance of $100m. That’s $270,000 every day.
Even with only a 20th the net wealth of Carlos Slim, the richest person on the
list, the Schroders would find that hard to spend.
Of course, billionaires are rarely, if ever, that liquid. But the maths
highlights another truth about the super-duper wealthy. That, very quickly
once you get into the billions, the numbers cease to matter beyond keeping
score.
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