vLane Blog

Feature: Just how much money did General Motors lose in 2008?

From Banovsky, Featured Contributor
Posted on February 26, 2009

Filed under News, Feature, Misc, Humor, This week

I realize that the figure of $30.9 billion is a huge number. A massive one. But if you were to go shopping with that sort of cash, exactly what could it buy you?

Here is a list of things you could buy that together add up to about $30.9 billion dollars, leaving a bit of spare change for…I don't know…golfing or something. Everything here is adjusted for inflation where possible, and clicking the prices will lead you to the external source material – generally Wikipedia.

Even if the numbers aren't 100 per cent accurate, you could, say, not purchase the B-2 Spirit bomber and still have plenty of cash left over.

With $30.9 billion you could…

Own every example of the fastest car ever made, the Bugatti Veyron (132 total, average value of $1,750,000 each) = $231,000,000

Have the Russian space station Mir (if it still existed) = $4,300,000,000

Fly a B-2 Spirit bomber = $2,200,000,000

Own and be the captain of the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship = $800,000,000

Be all stealth-like in the submarine USS Jimmy Carter = $3,200,000,000

Complete Boston's "Big Dig" = $14,600,000,000

Buy Facebook = $3,700,000,000

Swim in 22,000,000 barrels of oil (@ $45/barrel) = $1,000,000,000

Plus film the three most expensive movies ever made…

Cleopatra = $290,200,000

Superman Returns = $268,500,000

Titanic = $250,200,000

…And…

Get divorced from Heather Mills (The amount Sir Paul McCartney's separation from her is rumored to have cost) = $48,600,000

Total?

$30.9 billion

(Or $30,937,100,000 to be exact…)

Happy shopping!

Banovsky is a featured contributor for vLane.