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According to census data, there are approximately 342.6 million people in the US. The average consumer spends approximately $77,280 annually, while the average household income is $83,730.
This does not leave much scope for change in people’s budget.
But what if America’s top five billionaires divided their wealth equally among the entire American population? How much will each person get and how might this affect your lifestyle? Let’s find out.
First, the billionaire
Using Forbes’ real-time list of billionaires, these are the five wealthiest people in America:
- Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX) – Net worth of $483.7 billion
- Larry Ellison (Oracle) – $388.5 billion net worth
- Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) – $264.2 billion net worth
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon) – $240.4 billion net worth
- Larry Page (Google) – $208.9 billion net worth
The total wealth of these five individuals is around $1.59 trillion.
How much will you get?
If each of these five billionaires pooled their collective wealth into a fund and then divided it equally among all 342.5 million Americans, here’s how much each person would receive, $4,629.78.
On one hand, the combined wealth of every billionaire in the world is $16.1 trillion. Dividing that amount among everyone in America would put $47,007 in each person’s pocket.
what can you do with that money
In some ways, $4,629.78 is a lot. In others, it’s a drop in the bucket. To help put it into perspective, here’s what you could do with that money:
- Make about a 10% down payment on a new car (according to Kelley Blue Book, average new car prices are up to $49,740).
- Pay 18% down payment on a used car (average used car price is $25,512).
- Buy a new computer (a brand new, 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, so you can even buy one for a friend).
- Go on a shopping spree (maybe update that wardrobe).
And if you’re thinking long-term, here are some other smart choices:
- Pay off a big chunk of credit card debt – The average person owed $6,065 on credit cards in 2024.
- Invest in index funds. For example, Vanguard lets you start with as little as $3,000.
- Contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA.
- Keep it in a high-yield savings account for emergencies. It’s recommended to save three to six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund, but anything helps.
Of course, it’s unlikely that America’s top billionaires are suddenly going to divvy up their wealth with the American population. But it’s still interesting to see what might happen if they did.
