Putting ‘One Billion’ in Perspective Will Blow Your Mind

Let’s talk about a thousand million.

Photo by Lucas Clara on Unsplash

One billion is a huge number. But how huge? One billion is an oh-my-lord-insanely-huge-stack-of-zeros-big number. The number comes off in a casual conversation, but often both the speaker and the listener have no idea how big this thing is in the real world.

One billion comes down to one thousand million. The number has nine zeros, and while you can read each one of them, it’s almost impossible to put this monstrosity in perspective at first glance.

• 1 billion = 1,000,000,000

One billion is a glitch in the matrix. Single-dollar bills can draw a billion in understandable terms. (Single bill’s thickness: 0.0043 inches or 0.0000000679 miles.)

Having $1 million is great, but having $1 billion makes you forever rich. You can shop till you drop.

• $1 million stacks to 4300 inches, a 30 story high building
• $1 billion dollar stacked bills are 124 times taller than Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet
• Saving $100 per day can get you to $1 billion in 27,397 years
• Spending $1 each second takes 31 years to reach $1 billion