There are roughly 342.6 million people in the U.S., according to Census data. The average consumer spends around $77,280 annually, while the median household income is $83,730.
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That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room in people’s budgets.
But what if America’s top five billionaires split their wealth evenly across the entire U.S. population? How much would each person receive and how might that impact your lifestyle?
Let’s find out.
First, the Billionaires
Using Forbes’ real-time list of billionaires, these are the five wealthiest people in America:
- Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX) — $483.7 billion net worth
- 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 about $1.59 trillion.
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How Much Would You Get?
If every one of these five billionaires pooled their collective wealth into one fund and then split it evenly across all 342.5 million Americans, here’s how much each person would receive $4,629.78.
As an aside, the combined wealth of every billionaire in the world is $16.1 trillion. Splitting that amount across everyone in America would put $47,007 into each person’s pockets.
What You Could 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:
- Put nearly a 10% down payment on a new car (average new car prices are up to $49,740, as per Kelley Blue Book).
- Put an 18% down payment on a used car (average used car prices are $25,512).
- Buy a new computer (a brand-new, 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, so you could buy one for a friend, too).
- Go on a shopping spree (maybe update that wardrobe).
And if you’re thinking long-term, here are a few other smart options:
- Pay off a huge chunk of credit card debt — the average person owed $6,065 in credit cards in 2024.
- Invest in index funds. Vanguard, for example, lets you start with as little as $3,000.
- Contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA.
- Put it in a high-yield savings account for emergencies. It’s recommended to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund, but anything helps.
Of course, it’s not likely that America’s top billionaires are going to suddenly divide their wealth by the American population. But it’s still interesting to see what could happen if they did.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If America’s Top 5 Billionaires Split Their Wealth Evenly, Here’s What You’d Receive
